Cumin Cilantro Duck Breast With Apricot Jus And Japanese Eggplant Recipes

Steps:

• Wrap each duck breast in plastic wrap and pound them with a meat mallet until each breast is about 1 inch thick. Place the duck on a plate, sprinkle both sides with a total of 4 teaspoons salt, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
• When ready to cook the duck, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Score the skin of the duck breasts with a sharp knife, making a crosshatch pattern but not cutting down to the meat.
• In a large (12-inch) heavy-bottomed, ovenproof skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Place the duck breasts in the pan, skin side down. Cook uncovered over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes, discarding the fat from the pan occasionally, until the skin is very browned. Turn the duck with tongs, place the skillet in the oven, and roast for 12 to 18 minutes, until the internal temperature of the duck is 120 degrees F for rare. Remove from the oven, cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil, and allow the duck to rest for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce. Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add the shallots and saute for 2 minutes, until tender. Add the vinegar and cook for one minute. Add the Port, chicken stock, cherries, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the crème fraîche, orange zest, and orange juice and keep warm over low heat.
• Transfer the duck to a cutting board and slice diagonally, fanning the slices out on 4 dinner plates. Spoon the sauce generously on top, sprinkle with salt, and serve hot with extra sauce on the side.

Steps:

• For the marinade: Put the eggplant in a large mixing bowl, then add the cornstarch, mirin and soy sauce and toss together until fully coated. Set aside.
• For the sauce: Add the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, ginger and garlic to a small mixing bowl, then whisk to combine.
• For the stir-fry: In a wok or large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon coconut oil over high heat. Add the eggplant with its marinade and cook until lightly golden brown and tender, about 8 minutes, deglazing the pan if bits of food get stuck on by adding 1/4 cup water, wine or broth and stirring the bits up with a wooden spoon. Transfer the cooked eggplant back to the large mixing bowl and set aside.
• Turn heat down to medium-high. Add the remaining tablespoon coconut oil to the pan; add the dried chiles and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the bell pepper and cook until just tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the cooked eggplant, peanuts, scallions and sauce and toss to coat. Cook until the sauce is thickened, 1 minute.
• Serve immediately with brown rice and scallions, for garnish.

Steps:

• For chutney, in a saucepan, combine orange juice and sugar. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add the apricots, cherries, raisins, ginger, coriander, cumin, salt, pepper and cloves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cook until apricots are tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; stir in lemon juice. Let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours., Season both sides of duck with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, saute duck, skin side down, in oil until skin is browned; turn and cook for 1 minute. Set aside 1 tablespoon drippings. , Place duck on a greased rack in a shallow roasting pan. Bake at 350° until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium, a thermometer should read 165°; well-done, 180°), 30-35 minutes. , For orange sauce, saute garlic in reserved drippings for 1 minute. Add wine; bring to a boil. Cook and stir until reduced by half. In a bowl, combine the cornstarch, orange juice, broth and orange zest until blended. Stir into wine mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add butter and basil; whisk until smooth. Remove skin from duck if desired before slicing. Serve with orange sauce and chutney.,

Steps:

• For the cranberry compote: Whisk together the sugar, rice vinegar and rum in a bowl, then pour into a saucepan. Add the cranberries and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until reduced and syrupy and the cranberries are plump, 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
• For the cauliflower puree: Bring the cream to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the cauliflower and bring to a medium simmer. Cook until the cream is reduced by a third and the cauliflower is fork tender, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Transfer the cauliflower and half of the reduced cream to a food processor and process until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you want a thinner puree, add more cream.
• For the fried Brussels sprouts: Heat the vegetable oil in a deep fryer. Add the Brussels sprouts and fry until light golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain well and toss with salt and pepper to taste.
• For the duck breasts: Prepare a grill for medium-high heat. Whisk together the five-spice powder, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, brown sugar, thyme and 2 tablespoons each salt and pepper.
• Liberally coat the duck breasts on both sides with the spice mixture. Grill skin-side down until crispy and the fat is rendered, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip the breasts and continue cooking to an internal temperature of 140 to 150 degrees F, about another 3 minutes. Let rest for 5 to 7 minutes before slicing into 1/2-inch medallions.
• To serve: Arrange some slices of duck breast atop a smear of cauliflower puree. Top with compote and scatter fried Brussels sprouts around the plate.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl mix together the salt, ground black pepper, thyme, and rosemary; set aside. This will be your spice blend for seasoning the roasted potatoes and the duck breasts.
• Place cubed potatoes into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of your spice blend over the top of the potatoes. Toss the potatoes in the pan until they are evenly coated with oil and seasonings. Spread into a single layer across the bottom of the baking dish and bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven.
• While the potatoes are roasting, stir together the blueberries, water, apple juice, sugar, and jalapeno in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to low, and simmer until the mixture has reduced to the consistency of syrup, about 10 minutes.
• Cook the pancetta in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy. Remove the pancetta to drain on a paper towel, leaving the drippings in the skillet. Add the shallots and the mushrooms to the hot skillet; stir and cook them until soft and just beginning to brown. Remove the shallots and mushrooms and set aside. Increase heat to medium-high and place the bok choy in the hot skillet. Stir and cook the bok choy until the leaves are wilted and the white stalk pieces are tender, about 5 minutes. Return the shallots, mushrooms, and pancetta to the skillet, turn off the heat and set aside.
• Rinse the duck breast halves and pat dry. Rub the remaining spice blend onto both sides of the duck breasts. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat, when the pan is hot put in the vegetable oil and butter. Immediately place the duck breasts in the pan, skin and fat side down. Do not move the duck breasts until the skin is deep brown, about 5 minutes. Turn the breasts and cook until the internal temperature of the thickest part is 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) for well done. Remove the duck from the pan and place on a plate, covered with foil to rest for 5 minutes. While the duck is resting, place the skillet with the bok choy mixture onto a burner over medium heat to warm through.
• Slice each duck breast diagonally into 1/2 inch strips. Divide the bok choy mixture among four plates and drizzle each serving with 1/2 tablespoon of aged balsamic vinegar. Arrange the sliced duck breasts on top of the bok choy mixture; ladle on blueberry sauce. Serve with oven-roasted potatoes on the side.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil rimmed baking sheet; place eggplant halves, cut side down, on sheet. Roast eggplant until flesh is soft, about 1 hour. Cool slightly. Using spoon, scoop pulp from eggplant halves into medium bowl; mash. Discard skins.
• Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add ginger and stir 1 minute. Add tomatoes and next 4 ingredients; sauté 5 minutes to blend flavors. Add eggplant and stir until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm before serving.)

Steps:

• Make sauce:
• In a 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan cook shallot in 1 teaspoon butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Carefully add Port and brandy and boil until reduced by half. Add demiglace and simmer 5 minutes, or until reduced to about 2/3 cup. Pour sauce through a fine sieve into a small bowl and return to pan. Stir in apricot, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer sauce until apricot is just heated through and stir in remaining tablespoon butter.
• Preheat oven to 450° F.
• Put duck breasts, skin sides down, on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife and following shape of breast, trim all sinews, excess skin, and fat. With a fork carefully prick skin all over without piercing meat.
• Heat an ovenproof cast-iron skillet over moderately high heat until hot and add oil, swirling skillet until coated evenly. Pat duck dry and season with salt and pepper. Put duck, skin sides down, in skillet. Reduce heat to moderate and cook duck until skin is deep golden, about 3 minutes. Turn duck over and cook 2 minutes more. Remove duck from skillet and pour off fat. Return duck, skin sides down, to skillet and roast in middle of oven 5 minutes for medium-rare. Keep duck warm and reheat sauce over low heat.
• Slice duck on the diagonal and serve with sauce.