Soy-marinated duck breast with spiced butternut squash risotto
OK, so I now realize that I was rather ambitious in trying to fit everything in one blog entry, so I'm spacing them out. Hopefully, this will give you a chance to pace yourselves, too. I've been through somewhat of a duck phase this week, so here's a recipe for you to try. Now, I know what y'all are saying: "But that's wrong! Risotto's not meant to be an accompaniment! It's a meal in itself! It's a disgrace!!" Well, yes, it is. It's also heresy to put pineapple on pizza. It happens. Now get over it.
Once you've overcome your outrage, take a piece of duck breast and marinate overnight in some oil, half a tablespoon of soy sauce (you can use dark or light - dark is less salty and gives a stronger colour), salt and pepper. I also like to use a capful of balsamic vinegar on any kind of meat. Don't even think of removing any of the skin. If you're averse to fat, go eat some vegetables instead.
Take the duck breast out of the fridge at least 20 minutes before you're ready to cook, to bring it back to room temperature. When you're ready to cook, pre-heat oven to 180C. Bring a skillet to a medium/high heat and place the duck skin side down. When the skin acquires a nice, dark brown colour, turn over and seal on other side. Place skin side up on a rack over a foiled baking tray. With a sharp knife, score the skin three times. Roast for 15 minutes. Or 20 minutes if you want it well done, but I really wouldn't recommend it.
For the risotto, dice the top half of a butternut squash and chop some garlic. Prepare some vegetable stock (you may have this lying around in your freezer, or you can just use a stock cube or just plain water if you're really that lazy). Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a pan to a medium heat and add a knob of butter. Sauté the garlic for a few minutes, then add the squash (you probably don't need all of it). Spice with a teaspoon of cinnamon, half as much nutmeg and half a tablespoon of ground cumin. Stir-fry until squash begins to soften, then add one ladle of stock, cover and simmer for a few minutes until squash is almost cooked through. Stir in one cup of arborio rice and coat with juices, then slowly add a ladle-full of stock at a time, stirring continuously and letting the rice soak up most of the liquid before adding the next ladle. Rice should be cooked al dente (about 20 minutes or so). Sprinkle some paprika over the top.
Take duck breast out of oven and leave to rest for a couple of minutes before slicing with a sharp knife. Serve with a helping of risotto, topped with some chopped basil, and some salad.
Once you've overcome your outrage, take a piece of duck breast and marinate overnight in some oil, half a tablespoon of soy sauce (you can use dark or light - dark is less salty and gives a stronger colour), salt and pepper. I also like to use a capful of balsamic vinegar on any kind of meat. Don't even think of removing any of the skin. If you're averse to fat, go eat some vegetables instead.
Take the duck breast out of the fridge at least 20 minutes before you're ready to cook, to bring it back to room temperature. When you're ready to cook, pre-heat oven to 180C. Bring a skillet to a medium/high heat and place the duck skin side down. When the skin acquires a nice, dark brown colour, turn over and seal on other side. Place skin side up on a rack over a foiled baking tray. With a sharp knife, score the skin three times. Roast for 15 minutes. Or 20 minutes if you want it well done, but I really wouldn't recommend it.
For the risotto, dice the top half of a butternut squash and chop some garlic. Prepare some vegetable stock (you may have this lying around in your freezer, or you can just use a stock cube or just plain water if you're really that lazy). Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a pan to a medium heat and add a knob of butter. Sauté the garlic for a few minutes, then add the squash (you probably don't need all of it). Spice with a teaspoon of cinnamon, half as much nutmeg and half a tablespoon of ground cumin. Stir-fry until squash begins to soften, then add one ladle of stock, cover and simmer for a few minutes until squash is almost cooked through. Stir in one cup of arborio rice and coat with juices, then slowly add a ladle-full of stock at a time, stirring continuously and letting the rice soak up most of the liquid before adding the next ladle. Rice should be cooked al dente (about 20 minutes or so). Sprinkle some paprika over the top.
Take duck breast out of oven and leave to rest for a couple of minutes before slicing with a sharp knife. Serve with a helping of risotto, topped with some chopped basil, and some salad.
posted by CCT at 11:55 am
1 Comments:
Dude now THIS kind of entry is what I'm talking about when I say you have much more to give the public. MUCH better than that TFL nonsense... am gonna try to make this and will report back, anonymously of course...
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