Duck With Cherries Spinach And Pine Nuts Recipes

DUCK WITH CHERRIES AND RED WINE VINEGAR

Steps:

• Trim excess fat from duck breasts, leaving a 1/4-inch layer covering the breast. (Save fat trimmings to render and use for another purpose.) With a sharp knife, lightly score fat cover diagonally in two directions, taking care not to cut too deeply and expose meat. Turn breasts over and remove the thin tenderloins from underside. Trim away any veiny or ragged bits. (Save meaty trimmings for making stock.) Season generously on both sides with salt.
• Pulverize the peppercorns, allspice berries, cloves, bay leaves and fennel seed in a mortar or electric spice mill. Sprinkle spice mixture over duck breasts; massage seasoning into meat on both sides. For more-intense flavor, do this several hours ahead or overnight and refrigerate (recommended). Bring duck to room temperature before cooking.
• Make the sauce: Put turbinado sugar and red wine vinegar in a saucepan and simmer over medium-high heat for 2 minutes, until syrupy. Add red wine and chicken broth and simmer briskly until sauce coats spoon, about 5 minutes. Stir in ginger, cayenne and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set aside. You should have about 1 cup sauce. (Sauce may be made a day or two in advance, if desired.)
• Place a wide cast-iron pan over medium high heat. When pan is hot, place duck breasts side by side, skin side down. Let sizzle gently for about 7 minutes, until skin is crisp and golden, turning down heat as necessary to keep from getting too dark. Turn breasts over and cook 5 to 7 minutes more. (Alternatively, finish cooking breasts in a 400-degree oven.) Check temperature frequently with an instant-read thermometer; internal temperature should be a bit less than 125 degrees. Remove breasts and let rest on a warm platter for 8 to 10 minutes.
• To finish sauce, put butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add cherries and granulated sugar and cook for a minute or two, stirring, until cherries are heated through and beginning to get juicy. Add kirsch and cook 1 minute more, then add previously prepared sauce and bring to a simmer.
• Thinly slice duck breasts at an angle and arrange slices on a platter. Spoon some of the sauce and cherries over meat and pass remaining sauce at table.

SPINACH AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Wash the spinach, but allow the water to cling to the leaves. Cook the spinach until it wilts in a skillet over medium-high heat, about 3 minutes.
• Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spinach, pine nuts, and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Season with pepper and serve.

ROAST DUCK WITH CHERRIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a small bowl, stir together cloves, ground star anise, and ground cinnamon. Place potatoes, carrots, onion, turnip, and sweet potato in a roasting pan large enough to hold the duck; sprinkle half the spice mixture over the pan and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil and mix to coat.
• Rinse duck in cold water and pat dry. Rub duck all over with remaining spice mixture and 3 tablespoons olive oil; season generously, inside and out, with salt and pepper. Place duck, breast side up, on top of vegetables in roasting pan. Add neck and organs, along with thyme, bay leaves, and 2 cinnamon sticks. Cover pan tightly with parchment paper-lined aluminum foil; transfer to oven and cook for 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine cherries, red wine, sugar, remaining cinnamon stick, and whole star anise. Place over low heat and cook until cherries are soft and wine has reduced to a syrupy consistency, about 30 minutes. Reserve about 3 tablespoons of syrup for glazing the duck. Transfer remaining syrup to a small serving bowl; set aside and keep warm.
• Carefully uncover duck and baste with pan juices. Add garlic cloves to pan and re-cover with parchment paper-lined foil. Return duck to oven and continue cooking until meat starts pulling away from the bone, about 2 hours more.
• Uncover duck and brush with reserved cherry-wine syrup. Return to oven and roast until skin is crispy and dark, rich brown in color, about 15 minutes.
• Carefully transfer duck to a large serving platter. Let stand, uncovered, while preparing the vegetables. Transfer vegetables to a large bowl. Remove meat from the neck and add to vegetables, discarding bones. Thinly slice remaining organs and add to the vegetables; mash vegetables and meat together and season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer vegetable mixture to a serving bowl and serve immediately along with duck and cherry-wine syrup.

DUCK WITH CHERRIES, SPINACH AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• For the Sauce: Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions; saute until tender and beginning to turn golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Add dried cherries, wine, and vinegar; boil 30 seconds. Add chicken broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until sauce is reduced to 2/3 cup, 4 to 5 minutes. (Do ahead: can be made one day ahead. Cool slightly, cover, and chill).
• For the Duck: Finely grind fennel seeds and aniseed in spice mill; transfer to bowl. Whisk in pepper and next 3 ingredients.
• Using sharp knife, score duck skin diagonally to create 3/4 inch diamond pattern (do not cut into meat). Sprinkle both sides of duck with fine sea salt and spice mixture.
• Heat heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add duck, skin side down, to skillet. Cook until skin is browned and crisp and fat is rendered, about 7 minutes. Spoon off some of the fat from pan. Turn duck over; cook until browned and cooked to desired doneness, about 3 minutes for medium-rare. Transfer to plate; tent with foil.
• Meanwhile, rewarm sauce. Whisk in 3 Tb butter. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
• Melt 1 Tb butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add spinach and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss until wilted, about 2 minutes.
• Slice duck breasts. Divide spinach among plates. Place 1 sliced duck breast atop spinach on each plate. Spoon sauce over; sprinkle with toasted pine nuts.

ROASTED DUCK BREAST WITH DIRTY QUINOA, PINE NUTS, AND DRIED CHERRIES

Steps:

• For the duck: Let the duck breasts come to room temperature. Season both sides with salt. Score the skin of the duck in with cross-hatch marks. Place the duck breasts, fat-side down into a saute pan over medium-low heat and render out the fat, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Sear the duck breasts in batches, if needed. Flip the breasts and continue to cook for about another 5 minutes until medium to medium-rare. Remove from the pan and allow to rest. Season 1 liver with salt and pepper, add extra-virgin olive oil to the rendered duck fat in the same pan and saute for about 1 minute on the first side and 30 seconds on the second. Remove from the pan and let rest for a bit. Before serving chop and add to the quinoa.
• For the quinoa: Add the roasted duck bones to the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Taste the stock and add salt, if needed.
• Place a medium pot over medium heat and add 2 ounces fat, 1 shallot, and garlic and sweat for about 2 minutes. Add the quinoa and toast, about 1 minute, stirring to ensure the quinoa is coated in fat. Once toasted, add 2 cups seasoned chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce to a simmer for about 10 minutes, until the liquid is almost absorbed.
• Meanwhile, place a small saucepan over medium heat, add red wine and the dried cherries and allow the cherries to soak up the wine and reconstitute for about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the reconstituted cherries, their liquid, toasted pine nuts, orange zest and orange juice to the quinoa and stir to combine.
• Add the freshly picked tarragon leaves and the chopped liver and toss to combine. Keep over the heat until all the liquid is absorbed.
• For plating: Drizzle the watercress with extra-virgin olive oil and toss to combine.
• For each serving, slice the duck breast on the bias and place next to a mound of quinoa. Drizzle the plate with extra-virgin olive oil. Place some of the dressed watercress on the plate and season with sea salt.

ORANGE-STUFFED CHRISTMAS DUCK

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Put the duck on a rack set over a roasting tin and prick the skin all over with a skewer. Season well. Halve one of the oranges and squeeze some of the juice into the duck cavity and the tin, then stuff the cavity with both of the halves. Pour 100ml water into the tin and roast for 20 mins per 500g (about 50 mins). Turn the oven up to 220C/200C fan/ gas 7 and roast for another 20 mins until the duck skin is crispy and golden.
• Put a small pan of water on to boil. Using a peeler, pare the zest from the remaining orange. Scrape any pith off the zest using a small, sharp knife. Add the zest to the water and gently boil for 8-10 mins, then drain, slice thinly into strips and set aside. In the same pan, dissolve the brown sugar with the balsamic vinegar. Cut the pared orange in half, juice it and pour the juice into the pan. Add the Grand Marnier and 1 tsp butter. Bubble until it has reduced by half and is dark and syrupy. Remove from the heat and stir in the orange zest.
• Once the duck is cooked, wrap it in foil to keep warm and put it on a board to rest. Spoon off the fat from the roasting tin and discard. Pour any remaining duck juices into a wide, shallow saucepan. Tip in the stock and bring to the boil. Add the wine and simmer for 2-3 mins, then add half the orange sauce and stir well. In a small bowl, mix the cornflour with 2 tsp cold water, then stir into the gravy. Season, add 1 tsp butter and whisk together. Pour into a warm gravy jug.
• To serve, brush the remaining sticky orange glaze over the duck, then put the duck on a board and garnish with the watercress. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add 1 tsp butter. Once the butter has melted, tip in the spinach and cook for 1-2 mins until it has wilted. Season and tip into a warm serving dish.

SPINACH WITH ONIONS & PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large, deep pan. Add the onions, cover, then gently fry for 15 mins until soft and almost transparent. Add the butter and pine nuts, turn up the heat, then fry for 5 mins more or until the onions are dark golden. Stir in the garlic, grate in a little nutmeg, then fry for 1 min. Splash in vinegar.
• Meanwhile, heat the largest pan you have until very hot. Throw in half the spinach, cover for 20 secs, then stir until just wilted. Tip into a colander set over a bowl, then repeat with the second bag of spinach.
• To serve, toss the cooked spinach into onion mix and season generously.

DUCK WITH PORT-CHERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Whisk soy sauce and Sherry in medium bowl to blend. Using sharp knife, make diagonal cuts at 1/2-inch intervals in duck skin (not through meat). Place duck, skin side up, in glass baking dish. Pour marinade over. Cover duck with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 6 hours.
• Bring cherries, chicken stock, beef stock, Port and thyme sprig to boil in heavy medium saucepan over high heat. Simmer until mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat heavy large skillet over medium heat. Remove duck from marinade. Add duck breasts, skin side down, to skillet. Cook until skin is crispy, about 10 minutes. Turn duck over and continue cooking to desired doneness, about 5 minutes for medium. Transfer duck to work surface.
• Add cornstarch mixture to Port-cherry sauce. Bring to simmer, whisking constantly. Add butter 1 piece at a time, whisking until butter is melted before adding next piece. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
• Slice duck breasts thinly on diagonal and fan out on plates. Spoon Port-cherry sauce over duck and serve.

SPINACH WITH RAISINS & PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan, add the pine nuts and fry until golden. Add the raisins and fry briefly, then add the spinach leaves and turn in the pan over a fairly high heat until the leaves are just wilted. Sprinkle in the balsamic and seasoning, warm through and serve straight away.

SPINACH WITH PINE NUTS & GARLIC

Steps:

• Wash the spinach thoroughly and cram into a large pan. Pour over a little boiling water, cover tightly and cook for 2-3 mins, until the leaves have wilted.
• Tip into a colander and drain well. Use the side of a small plate to press the spinach down to extract the last of the water. If using frozen, defrost in the microwave and drain.
• Meanwhile heat the oil, add the pine nuts and fry until golden. Add the garlic and fry briefly, then stir in the spinach and stir until heated through. Season and serve in a warm side dish.