Today I present another adventure in Freezer Diving! And it’s a good one. I found duck breasts in our freezer along with a bag of frozen peaches. I then turned to the fruit-forward cookbook Fruitful for ideas. I ended up with a riff on a duck recipe that called for honeyed gooseberries. As I didn’t have gooseberries at the ready, I subbed in peaches and blueberry jam, and it all turned out to be, well...rather fruitful!
If you already have some juicy stone fruits waiting on the counter, by all means use those. Freezer Diving is a game of invention played with ingredients you already have on hand, and this time, frozen peaches worked for me (as well as the jar of Stonewall Kitchen blueberry jam lurking in the fridge). I sometimes like to think of recipes as blueprints for meal-building; scaffolding to be altered according to what flavors you like together—or simply what needs to be smartly used up before it goes to waste.
This duck is not difficult to make, but your delighted guests need never know. So, throw open your cupboards, root through your freezer, and let the games begin!
Duck with Peaches and Blueberry Jam
Adapted from Fruitful by Brian Nicholson and Sarah Huck
Makes 2 servings
Ingredients
Duck
One 1 lb Moulard Magret duck breast, split for two portions, excess fat trimmed from edges
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons fennel seeds, crushed
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves (or one teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Peach-Blueberry Sauce
One pint frozen peaches
3 tablespoons blueberry jam
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Score the duck breast skin in a crosshatch pattern, making the slices as deep as possible without cutting into the meat. Season with salt and pepper on each side.
In a small bowl combine the fennel, thyme, and olive oil. Rub the mixture over the duck breast. Let the seasoned duck stand at room temperature, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for one hour.
Heat a large skillet over high heat until very hot. Place the duck, skin side down, in the skillet. Reduce heat to medium high and cook for about 8 minutes (keep a careful eye when skin achieves a deep golden brown), continuously draining or spooning off the rendered fat. Turn the duck and cook it to your desired doneness, 4 to 5 minutes longer for medium rare. Transfer the breasts to a platter and cover them with foil to keep warm. Reserve one tablespoon of fat from the pan; use the rest for something else.
For the peaches, return the skillet to medium high heat. Add the peaches and 2 tablespoons of blueberry jam. Simmer until peaches soften, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of jam, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Slice the duck breast thinly against the grain arrange the slices on the serving plates, spoon the peach-blueberry sauce over the top and serve immediately.
Duck
One 1 lb Moulard Magret duck breast, split for two portions, excess fat trimmed from edges
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons fennel seeds, crushed
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves (or one teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Peach-Blueberry Sauce
One pint frozen peaches
3 tablespoons blueberry jam
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Score the duck breast skin in a crosshatch pattern, making the slices as deep as possible without cutting into the meat. Season with salt and pepper on each side.
In a small bowl combine the fennel, thyme, and olive oil. Rub the mixture over the duck breast. Let the seasoned duck stand at room temperature, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for one hour.
Heat a large skillet over high heat until very hot. Place the duck, skin side down, in the skillet. Reduce heat to medium high and cook for about 8 minutes (keep a careful eye when skin achieves a deep golden brown), continuously draining or spooning off the rendered fat. Turn the duck and cook it to your desired doneness, 4 to 5 minutes longer for medium rare. Transfer the breasts to a platter and cover them with foil to keep warm. Reserve one tablespoon of fat from the pan; use the rest for something else.
For the peaches, return the skillet to medium high heat. Add the peaches and 2 tablespoons of blueberry jam. Simmer until peaches soften, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of jam, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Slice the duck breast thinly against the grain arrange the slices on the serving plates, spoon the peach-blueberry sauce over the top and serve immediately.
No comments:
Post a Comment