Duck With Summer Peas Beans Recipes

Steps:

• With a sharp knife, trim any excess fat from the duck legs, leaving the skin intact. Trim the skin a bit, too, if it seems quite thick. Reserve duck fat for another purpose. Season each leg generously with salt, then sprinkle with the 5-spice powder, rubbing the seasoning into the meat. Place the duck legs in a heavy-bottomed pan along with the ginger slices and onion. Cover with 4 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently, covered, until the meat is fairly tender when probed with a paring knife, about 45 minutes (if using Pekin duck legs, cooking time will probably be less). Take the duck legs from the pot and let them cool. Remove the meat from the bones and chop into rough 1/2-inch pieces. Strain and cool the cooking broth and skim any fat from surface. This step may be done up to 2 days ahead of finishing the dish.
• In a small bowl, stir together the rice wine, soy sauce, brown sugar, orange zest, black bean paste and sesame oil. Put the julienned ginger, chopped garlic, red chile peppers and cumin seed on a small plate. Measure 1 cup of defatted duck broth. Mix the cornstarch and water in a small container. Have all these ingredients in easy reach of the stove.
• In a wok or large cast-iron skillet, heat the vegetable oil over high heat. Add the chopped duck meat and let it sizzle, stirring well, until crisp and lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Season lightly with salt. Lower the heat to medium high and add the ginger, garlic, red chile peppers and cumin seed. Stirring frequently, cook for one minute more, taking care not to burn the garlic. Add the rice wine mixture and duck broth and bring to a brisk simmer. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook until lightly thickened, 30 seconds or so. Turn off the heat and add the pea shoots, mixing them into the sauce until barely wilted. Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with scallions.

Steps:

• Remove the breast and the legs from the duck (you can ask your butcher to do this for you). Remove the skin from the legs and reserve with the neck, heart, and gizzard.
• Heat an 8-inch saute pan over high heat. Add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Add the duck legs and sear until well browned on all sides, but not cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Lower the heat to medium-low, pour off any excess fat and add the white wine. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover with a tight lid and cook slowly over low heat for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat falls off the bones. Remove the legs from the liquid and remove all the meat from the bones and set aside. Pour the braising liquid into a shallow container and remove the fat - if you refrigerate the braising liquid overnight the fat will solidify and be easy to remove. There should be at least 1 cup of braising liquid left after the removal of the fat, if not, add chicken stock to make up 1 cup. Add the braised meat back to the braising liquid and cook over low heat, just until the meat is heated through. Set aside and keep warm.
• Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the duck breasts, skin side down, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook without turning for 20 minutes, lowering the heat if the skin gets too dark and removing excess fat from the pan as it renders from the duck. During the last few minutes of cooking, season the flesh side with salt. Turn the breasts over and cook for 3 minutes. The duck breast should be medium rare to medium to be perfect.
• Remove the duck breast from the pan and let rest on a plate, reserving any juices that accumulate. Slice each breast into 4 to 6 slices. Remove the stewed duck meat from the braising liquid. Add the Pear Sauce to the braising liquid and strain through a fine strainer. Add any juices from the duck breast, the pear brandy and the butter and whisk well.
• Place a scoop of Barley Risotto slightly off center. Place some of the braised meat in front and the Wilted Greens on either side of the risotto. Place slices of the duck atop the braised meat. Drizzle the meat with the sauce. Sprinkle with toasted hazelnuts and place the dried pear slices into the risotto.
• Using a juicer, juice 2 pears to get 1/2 cup of juice. The pears can also be grated into a bowl lined with a clean kitchen towel. Once the pulp is in the towel, close the towel and squeeze all the juice out into the bowl.
• Thinly slice the remaining 4 pears lengthwise. Place in a food dehydrator and dry until crisp according to manufacturer's recommendations. Save the best looking dry pear slices to garnish the plate.
• Using a spice grinder grind the dried pears to a powder. Add 1/2 cup of the pear powder to the 1/2 cup of juice and let sit. The juice will thicken quickly and be about the consistency of peanut butter.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Halve the butternut squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and discard. Lightly oil a sheet pan, place the squash flesh side down, and roast until soft, about 45 minutes. Set aside to cool, then scoop out of the skin and puree until smooth using a food mill or food processor. Refrigerate.
• Soak the barley in the water, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Pour the barley and the soaking water into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer until softened, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the butternut squash puree and season with salt and black pepper and keep warm until needed. Add butter right before serving.
• Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add enough canola oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Add the greens and cook, tossing often, just until greens are wilted and stalks are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Set aside and keep hot.

Steps:

• Remove excess fat from duck or duck legs. Season with salt and pepper, and put in a skillet that will fit it comfortably; turn heat to medium, and cover. Check once you hear sizzling: duck should be simmering in its own fat and exuding liquid. Adjust heat to create a steady simmer.
• Once bottom browns, turn. Eventually liquid will evaporate and duck will cook in fat only; at this point, lower heat and continue to cook duck, turning once in a while, until it becomes tender, about an hour.
• Transfer duck to a plate. Pour off all but a couple of tablespoons of fat. Turn heat to medium high, and add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until it softens, about 5 minutes. Add ginger, garlic and chilies and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add beans and sugar and turn heat to high; cook, stirring occasionally, until beans begin to brown, about 5 minutes.
• Add 2 tablespoons water and nam pla or soy sauce. Put duck on top of bean mixture and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until both beans and duck are very tender, 15 to 30 more minutes, adding a little more water if necessary to keep mixture moist. (You can prepare dish in advance up to this point; cover and set aside until ready to eat, then reheat.) Uncover and stir in lime juice; taste and adjust seasoning, then sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Steps:

• Peel the potatoes and cut into chunks. Place them in a pan of cold, salted water and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 mins until tender, then drain in a colander. While they are draining, place the pan back on a low heat with the cream and vanilla pod and heat to infuse. Remove vanilla pod and take pan off the heat. Push the potatoes through a ricer back into the pan. Add the butter and seasoning, then beat to form a smooth mash. Set aside.
• Season the duck all over with salt and press the pepper into the skin side. Put the duck, skin-side down, in a cold frying pan and place over a low-medium heat. As the pan heats up, the duck will start to cook - you only want a gentle sizzle coming from the pan. If it is cooking too quickly, turn the heat down slightly. Cook for 10 mins, shaking the pan occasionally. When the skin is mahogany and crisp, flip the breasts over and cook on the flesh side for 5 mins more. This will give you duck that is slightly pink in the middle. Transfer the duck to a tray or plate and leave it to rest.
• Pour off all but 1 tsp fat from the duck pan, place pan back on the heat and cook the bacon for 3 mins until crisp. Turn up the heat, add the mushrooms and cook for 2 mins more. Splash in the Port, add the peas and stock, then simmer for 2 mins more. Pour any juices from the rested duck into the pan and season to taste.

Steps:

• Cook the beans: Rinse beans and put them, along with the onion, bay leaves, cloves and garlic, in a large heavy-bottomed pot with a lid. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Add 2 teaspoons salt, reduce heat to low, and bring beans to a bare simmer. Cover, but leave lid ajar. Cook very slowly, adding water as needed, for about 1 1/2 hours, or until beans are soft. Taste broth and adjust seasoning. Remove onion, bay leaves, cloves and garlic, and discard. Let beans cool uncovered in the cooking liquid. (They may be cooked up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated.)
• As beans cook, prepare the duck legs: Lay them on a cutting board skin-side up, and use a skewer or the tip of a knife to prick the skin of each leg all over.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Season each leg generously on both sides with salt and pepper - don't go crazy, but don't be meek.
• Place legs in a roasting pan, in a single layer skin-side up. (Take care that the roasting pan is high-sided enough, as a fair amount of fat will be produced as legs cook.) Roast, uncovered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the meat is quite tender, nearly falling off the bone. At this point, check to see the skin is crisp and nicely browned.If not, raise oven temperature to 400 degrees, and roast for another 10 minutes, or perhaps more, until skin is crisped. Remove legs from roasting pan and keep warm. (An inch or more of liquid fat will have accumulated in the roasting pan. Let it cool a bit before pouring it into a jar for future use.)
• Bring beans to a boil in a pot over medium-high heat. Pull them off the heat, and drain in a colander, reserving liquid. Put three-quarters of the beans in a mixing bowl and use a potato masher to mash them. (Alternatively, you can purée the beans in a food processor.) Add bean broth as needed to loosen the mixture to the consistency of soft mashed potatoes. Stir in the reserved whole beans. Adjust the seasoning. Keep warm.
• Prepare sizzled herbs: Add 3 tablespoons olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add sage and rosemary until they're coated with oil. When all the sage leaves have wilted, keep stirring until the herbs begin to fry and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn heat to low, then swirl in the garlic and red-pepper flakes. Immediately add olives and warm through.
• To serve, pair one duck leg with a spoonful of mashed beans. Spoon some of the olive mixture over the duck and beans. If desired, dress crisp green arugula with just a few drops of lemon juice and a little salt, and serve alongside for a refreshing counterpoint to the rich, salty duck and beans.