Duck breast with honey and vinegar / Magret de Canard au miel et au vinaigre

Tags

Duck, duck breast, honey, magret, Perigord, shallots, vinegar

5 ingredients – that’s all you need to create an amazing dish that is equally good for a simple weekday meal or a beautiful showpiece main course for your next fancy dinner party.  The recipe uses duck magret or “magret de canard,” the breast of a Moulard duck raised for foie gras.  The Moulard is a large bird known for its ample, fatty breast meat.  Two-star Michelin chef Andre Daguin was reportedly the first to sear a magret like a steak at the Hotel de France in 1959. The impromptu recipe caught on and is now found in restaurants the world over.

A typical dish from the Perigord region of France where duck is king.  The cuisine’s origins are often rustic and modest, ingredients are from the terroir which is very rich in taste and flavour: duck, walnuts, wild mushrooms, truffles, honey and wines.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 duck breasts (magret)
2 shallots, finely diced
3 tablespoons honey (acacia honey is good)
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Place the magret fat side up on a cutting board
With a very sharp knife, score the fat in a criss-cross pattern

Preheat a  large skillet over medium high heat – do not add butter or oil
Add the duck and sear the breasts, skin side down for 6 minutes
Reduce the heat to medium low and drain most of the fat and reserve for later use
Flip the duck breasts over
Cook them for an additional 6 minutes (magret is best served medium rare)
Wrap the breasts in aluminum foil to keep warm and set aside
Add the shallots to the skillet and allow them to cook, while stirring, for about 2 minutes
Deglaze the skillet with the honey and vinegar, scraping up the browned bits as the sauce cooks
Simmer the honey vinegar glaze for 2 to 3 minutes
Season with salt and pepper
Return the duck breasts to the pan, turning them a few times to coat them evenly with the honey glaze
Carve them into thickish slices and serve them immediately garnished with some of the sweet sour sauce
Enjoy!

 

 

Cook’s Tip: Pour the rendered duck fat into a clean container. Let it cool, refrigerate it, and save it for other culinary uses. It will keep for months and add a wonderful taste to a variety of recipes, particularly potatoes. You can also use it to sear other meats, delivering a unique, extra kick of flavor.

 

 

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Chicken breasts with a balsamic and shallot sauce

Tags

balsamic, Chicken, chicken breasts, mushrooms, shallots

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 oz / 170 g)
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
4 shallots, diced
1 cup white button mushrooms
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
1/2 cup / 125 ml water
1 tablespoon chives, chopped

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 360 F
Place 1 tablespoon butter and the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat
Add the chicken breasts, sprinkle with salt and pepper
Sauté, uncovered for about 3 minutes each side
Transfer them to an ovenproof dish and place in the oven for at least 10 minutes but no more than 25 minutes
Add the shallots and mushrooms to the pan and cook for 2 minutes over medium high heat
Add the vinegar and ketchup and cook another 1 minute
Add the water and cook until the liquid is reduced by half
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, stirring constantly until well blended
To serve: cut each breasts on the diagonal several times and fan it out on the plate
Pour some sauce over each breast
Sprinkle with chives
Enjoy!

Summer vegetable tian

Tags

aubergines, courgettes, eggplant, shallots, tomatoes, zucchini

This is a beautiful dish that just cries out “summer”. It uses all vegetables that are at their peak in summer and you find them in abundance at all the local markets. The name tian actually comes from the pottery dish that was used to bake it in. It is basically a deep dish pie or tart plate. You can use a quiche pan, pie dish or any low baking dish to cook this. At this time of the year, we have the most gorgeous tomatoes, all with interesting names, some round and even, others strange shapes and mottled colors ranging from red to purple to orange. The courgettes too come in different sizes and colors, dark green, pale green, yellow, striped. What an assortment! So having all these vegetables, I just had to make a dish that brought out the colors and flavors of summer and a tian is perfect. Simple and rustic.

If you like tomatoes and do not yet own a tomato knife, I highly recommend you get one or ask someone to buy you one as a gift. It is a small serrated knife that allows you to cut through the ripest tomato quickly and with a minimum of pressure without crushing the flesh. Many have forked tips that allow you to lift the slices after they have been cut. Do invest in one, it is well worth it.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
4 courgettes
6 tomatoes
2 small aubergines
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 onions
Fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons olive oil
A few basil leaves
Salt & black pepper

Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 200C / 400F
Wash and dry the vegetables
Thinly slice the courgettes, aubergines, tomatoes and onions
Use a 20 x 30-cm / 8 x 12-inch baking dish
Layer the vegetables in the dish, alternating them
Sprinkle the crushed garlic, bay leaf and the thyme on top
Drizzle with the olive oil, salt & freshly ground black pepper
Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes
Sprinkle with the shredded basil leaves and serve
Enjoy!