Please register to access this content.
To continue viewing the content you love, please sign in or create a new account
Dismiss
This content is for our paying subscribers only

Food Guide to Cooking

Pan-seared duck breast with brussels sprouts and caramelised apple

A recipe that works equally well for late weeknights or weekend festivities



PREP TIME 2 h
COOK TIME 45m
SERVES 2
Ingredients

    Duck breast

    2 duck breast

    15 ml olive oil

    2 gms juniper berries

    1 pc cinnamon stick

    Juice of 2 oranges

    Zest of 1 orange

    10 gms honey

    1 duck bone

    50 gms vegetable stock

     

    Brussel sprouts

    200 gr brussels sprouts

    40 gr butter

    200 ml chicken stock

    35 gr spinach

    10 gr nasturtium leaves

    25 gr shallot

    10 ml lemon juice

     

    Fermented red cabbage

    200 gms red cabbage

    7 gms kosher salt

    12 gms sugar

    5 ml lemon juice

    2 juniper berries

     

    Caramelised apple

    1 green apple

    150 ml water

    1 cinnamon stick

    110 gms sugar

    25 gms butter

    2 gms cardamom

    1 sprig of thyme

     

    Dehydrated potato

    2 red potato

    1 tsp cinnamon powder

    salt to taste

    1 sprig of thyme

     

    Duck glaze

    Duck reduction

    15 gms apple caramel

    10 ml fermented red cabbage juice

    15 gms butter

     

Ingredient Substitution Guide

METHOD

Put all ingredients inside a vacuum bag mentioned under duck breast. Shake the bag and vacuum seal it. Leave it to marinate for 2 hours. After that, remove the duck breast from the marinade, remove the skin from the duck breast, and sear it in a pan. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, depending on the size.

Duck reduction

Roast the duck bone in the oven until it turns golden. In a separate pan, add vegetables and the duck bone. Fill it with water and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook until half of it is left. Then, strain and return it to heat. Reduce it until half. Add the duck breast marinade and reduce it until it becomes slightly thick. Before serving, slightly warm the duck breast to 52°C.

Brussel sprouts

First, peel the green leaves from the Brussels sprouts and keep them in ice water for later. Then, chop the shallots and the remaining Brussel sprouts and sauté them in 20 grams of butter for 10 minutes. Next, add the chicken stock and cook until the Brussels sprouts are soft. Transfer the mixture to a blender and mix until smooth, adding a little stock at a time to adjust the consistency. After that, add the spinach and nasturtium and blend quickly. Finally, add the butter and lemon juice and blend until smooth. Season to taste and strain the mixture.

Fermented red cabbage

To make the cabbage puree, first slice the cabbage thinly and rub some salt and juniper on it. Then, take a glass jar with a locked lid and pour lemon juice in it. Add the cabbage to the jar and leave it in a dark place at room temperature (around 21 degrees Celsius) for three days. After three days, open the jar and reseal it, then leave it for another two days. Repeat this process by opening and sealing the jar for two more days. By then, the cabbage should be ready and should have a tangy smell and flavour. Remember to keep a little bit of the juice for the duck glaze. Finally, blend the cabbage until it becomes a puree.

Caramelised apple

To make caramel, mix sugar, water, cardamom, cinnamon, and thyme in a pan over a low flame. As it turns nut brown, add butter to finish. Cut the apple into segments and quickly add them to the caramel. Let it cool for a bit, and then transfer everything into a glass jar with a lid. Fill a pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Place the jar in the pot and cook for 10 minutes. Once done, leave the apple in the jar for an hour to soak up the caramel. After an hour, remove the apple and pan fry it to give it a caramelised colour. Remember to keep some of the caramel for the duck glaze.

Dehydrated potato

First, peel a potato and slice it very thinly. Next, blanch the slices in hot water for 30 seconds. Then, remove the slices from the water and transfer them to an ice bath. Once they are cold, lay them out on a tray for dehydration. Mix together cinnamon, chopped thyme, and sea salt, and sprinkle this mixture on top of the potato slices. Finally, place the tray in a dehydrator set at 72 degrees or in an oven set at 70 degrees until the slices become crispy.

Duck glaze

Reduce the duck glaze with the caramel and fermented juice, then blend it with butter. Keep it aside.

To assemble

On a plate, put the duck and add fermented cabbage puree and Brussel sprouts puree. Top it with caramelised apple and dehydrated potato, then drizzle it with some duck glaze. Finally, garnish it with edible flowers and watercress leaves.

Chef Christian Pedersen
He is the Executive Chef at Hilton Dubai Palm Jumeirah.

What other recipes would you like featured? Tell us at food@gulfnews.com

Advertisement