Duck Breast with Orange Sauce, Greens, and Root Vegetables
(courtesy of Adam Wadhwani. Serves 2)
1 skin-on duck breast (frozen is fine if fresh isn’t available)
1 bunch kale (may use spinach or rainbow chard instead)
8 small turnips (may substitute beets or other root vegetables)
2 medium oranges (may substitute blood oranges)
¼ cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup chicken stock
4 tablespoons butter
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Orange sauce
Mix ¼ cup sugar with juice of two oranges; add pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer. Add 2 tablespoons butter, and allow to reduce for 20 minutes. Then add ¼ cup chicken stock and allow to reduce until mixture coats back of a spoon.
Turnips
Peel and cut ends off turnips. Cook in mixture of half chicken stock, half water (enough to cover turnips), 1 teaspoon sugar, and pinch of salt and pepper until tender.
Duck
Season duck with salt and pepper. Cook in frying pan with olive oil, skin-side down, 4 minutes; once skin is crispy, flip to other side, add 2 tablespoons butter, and cook 4 more minutes, basting with butter frequently. Duck should be medium rare when done. Let it rest while preparing kale.
Kale
Wilt kale in pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper. This should take a few minutes.
Plating
Pile some kale in middle of each plate. Slice duck breast and place half on each heap of kale. Arrange four turnips on each plate around duck and kale. Drizzle orange sauce over duck. If desired, use squeeze bottle to make attractive designs.
