VANILLA DUCK WITH ROASTED PARSNIPS
The idea of combining vanilla with any kind of meat may seem odd, but it actually works well. Vanilla doesn't just have to be used together with sugar, as it complements other foods equally good. In this recipe, duck is combined with some of the basic ingredients in a kitchen, parsnips and potatoes, and vanilla adds that extra interest.
4 servings:
4 duck breasts
curry or other seasoning that you like with duck
salt, pepper
Prepare the duck breasts by scoring the fat on the skin side and then season it with curry, salt and pepper. Wrao the duck into a foil and put into a refrigerator for 1 hour. Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the dish, as follows. When you have everything ready and hot, take the duck and put it fat side down into a moderately hot pan so the fat dissolves and floats out on the pan. Cook for a total of around 10 minutes or more, until the duck is cooked to your liking. Save the pan for parsnips!
Vanilla veggie sauce:
4 carrots, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
1 parsnip, chopped
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
2 tbsp olive oil
150 mL/5 fl oz red wine
200 mL/6.6 fl oz vegetable or lamb stock
sauté the veggies in olive oil on moderate heat for 5 minutes until lightly brown. Add red wine, vanilla seeds and beans, heat up and reduce the volume a bit, then add the stock and simmer for 45 minutes. Strain the sauce and keep hot until serving. Reduce if necessary, so the sauce is somehow thick.
Potato mash:
400 g/13.3 oz potatoes
50 g/1.7 oz butter
50 mL/1.7 fl oz cream
Cook the potatoes in salted water (starting from cold temperature, bring to light boil and reduce the heat to simmering) until the potatoes are so soft that you can stick a fork into the middle without much resistance. Remove water, put back on the heat to evaporate the water. Mash the potatoes, heat up butter and cream and add them to the potatoes and mix into a purée.
Parsnips:
4 parsnips
4 tbsp olive oil
50 g/1.7 oz butter
some salt, pepper
Slice the parsnips into thinner sticks, add the olive oil to the pan where you cooked the duck, and roast the parsnips in it until they are lightly browned. Add butter, salt and pepper, and let the butter get lightly browned as well.
Now put everything on a plate, the duck covered in sauce, and potato mash in a little of the parsnip butter. Serve immediately.