Recipe courtesy of Traci Des Jardins
Duck Breast with Rhubarb, Spring Onions and Blistered Fava Beans
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: 4 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 4 servings
- Calories
- 572
- Total Fat
- 12
- Saturated Fat
- 3
- Carbohydrates
- 80
- Dietary Fiber
- 28
- Sugar
- 46
- Protein
- 54
- Cholesterol
- 97
- Sodium
- 1429
- Total: 1 hr 20 min
- Active: 1 hr 5 min
Ingredients
4 small duck breasts
3 pounds fava beans, shucked from their pods (2 1/2 cups shucked favas)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 ounces rhubarb
1/4 cup sugar
3 spring onions
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
A few sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 cup roasted chicken stock
1/8 cup fresh Italian parsley
1/2 cup arugula leaves, preferably ‘Sylvetta’
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Trim the duck breasts of any sinew, then score the fat without cutting through to the breast meat by making fine cuts with a very sharp knife about 1/8-inch apart and 1/8-inch deep into the surface of the fat, all in one direction and then in the other direction to form a crosshatch.
- In a hot cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, cook the fava beans in their skins until they are blistered. Stir to flip, then add a generous pinch of salt and cook until the skins start to split, about 2 minutes. Let cool, then peel the beans.
- Cut the rhubarb into 1/4-inch-thick pieces until you have 2 cups. Retain the ends and odd pieces, and chop them. Place 1/8 cup sugar in a sauté pan and add enough water to moisten. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the sugar starts to caramelize, about 2 minutes. Add the nicely cut rhubarb pieces and cook just until the rhubarb begins to soften, about a minute. Immediately remove from the pan with a flat spatula and set aside. (Be careful not to overcook!) Add 1 cup water to the pan and the remaining 1/8 cup sugar and rhubarb scraps, then cook for about 6 minutes. Strain the juice, pressing to extract all the juice into a measuring cup. Discard the rough-cut rhubarb scraps.
- Cut the spring onions into 1/4-inch rounds, only cutting the white and half the green. Place the olive oil into a sauté pan and heat over medium heat. Add the spring onions and a generous pinch of salt and pepper, then cook slowly without browning, turning down to medium-low heat as necessary. Cover and cook until soft but not falling apart, 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Sprinkle the duck breasts with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet on medium-high heat and place skin-side down in the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, slowly rendering the fat until the skin is crispy, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and cook, basting in the duck fat, until the skin is a deep golden brown. Flip the duck over and place on a tray in the oven until medium-rare, about 5 minutes. Set the duck breasts aside to rest. Deglaze the pan with the rhubarb juice, then add the chicken stock and cook until emulsified, about 1 minute. Remove the thyme stems and garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Mix together the rhubarb, favas and spring onions in a small sauté pan, then add the Italian parsley and gently warm over low heat until warm, about 2 minutes. Slice the duck breast and place a little rhubarb, spring onion and favas down on the plate. Fan the sliced duck breast over, then place a little rhubarb, spring onion and favas over. Sauce around the duck and garnish with the arugula.