Duck Breasts With Turnips And Eastern Spices
- 2 medium, round white turnips, about 1/3 pound each
- 2 duck breasts, like magret, skin on, about 6 ounces each
- 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 2 whole cloves
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 4 tablespoons natural honey
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 cup hard cider, or 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup fresh chicken broth or good canned version
- 2 sprigs flat leaf parsley
- Trim the ends of the turnips and peel them.
- Cut into 1/4-inch slices.
- Place the duck breasts and the turnips in a large saucepan, and cover with boiling water.
- Cook, simmering, over low heat for one minute.
- Remove the duck breast, and cook the turnips two minutes longer.
- Remove the turnips, and place the duck breasts and the turnips into an ice-water bath to prevent them from cooking further.
- When cool, remove the duck and the turnips.
- Pat the duck dry with a paper towel.
- Using a sharp knife, remove the thick, excess fat, leaving a thin layer of fat underneath.
- Score the surface of the fat diagonally.
- Grind the coriander, clove and cumin by placing them on a cutting board and crushing them with a heavy sauce pan.
- This can also be done in a spice mill, but be careful not to grind them too finely -- you want a crunchy texture to the spice crust.
- Meanwhile, season the duck breast with salt and pepper.
- Place in a skillet over medium-high heat, skin side down, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
- Add the turnips, turning them from time to time, and continue cooking another 2 minutes.
- Remove the duck and turnips from the skillet, and pour off the fat.
- Pat the skin of the duck with paper towels to absorb any excess fat.
- In the same skillet, combine the honey and white vinegar.
- Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to caramelize lightly and evenly.
- Add the ground spices while stirring.
- Be careful not to burn.
- Remove the skillet from the heat.
- Return duck breasts to the skillet, fatty side down.
- Move them around in the pan to coat them with the spice mixture.
- Remove the duck, and keep warm.
- Return the skillet to medium-high heat, and add the cider.
- Cook, scraping the side and bottom of the pan, until all the brown particles are dissolved.
- Add the chicken broth, and bring to a simmer.
- Add the duck breasts, fatty side up, and place the turnips around them.
- Simmer for about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Remove the duck and keep warm.
- The meat should be pink in the center.
- Bring the sauce and the turnips to a boil and cook until reduced by more than half, until the sauce has thickened to a syrupy consistency.
- Cut the breasts on a bias into thin slices.
- Arrange the slices of the breasts in a fan shape in the center of a warm serving plate.
- Garnish with turnip slices, and spoon the sauce around.
- Garnish with parsley.
duck breasts, coriander seeds, cloves, cumin seeds, salt, natural honey, white vinegar, hard cider, chicken broth, parsley
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/6008 (may not work)