My favorite way to cook is to find a recipe I like, substitute about 75% of the ingredients, and create a totally new recipe.  Last night’s experimentation was a big success! This absolutely delicious duck breast and foie gras recipe doesn’t take long to prepare, but does require some coordination on the timing.

Any raw foie gras may be used for this recipe, but the most suitable product is “foie gras cubes”.  The foie gras comes in a one-pound shrink wrapped package (retails for only $45).  Use the smaller pieces for the sauce, since they will be emulsified in the blender.  Reserve the larger cubes to sauté.

If black truffles are in season, you could certainly add thin slices of fresh black truffles to the mashed potatoes.

Ingredients:

2 large duck breasts, skin scored with a diamond pattern (score in both directions) and seasoned with salt and pepper

4 shallots, sliced thin

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sugar

1/3 cup cognac or brandy

2 cups rich chicken or duck stock

1 pound foie gras cubes, separate the larger pieces from the smaller scraps

salt and pepper

4 russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

4 oz black truffle butter

1 head red cabbage, sliced thinly

1 red onion, sliced thinly

2 jalapenos, chopped (seeds removed)

Instructions: Place the potatoes in a pot of cold salted water.  Bring to a boil and cook about 15 minutes or until tender.  Smash the potatoes and add about 4 oz of black truffle butter.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Set aside to keep warm.

While potatoes are cooking, saute the shallots in olive oil with the sugar until caramelized.  Deglaze the pan with brandy or cognac and reduce the liquid to 1/4, about 2 tablespoons.  Add the chicken stock and continue cooking until the liquid is reduced to about one cup.  Pour the hot sauce into a blender and immediately add about 4 – 6 oz of the smaller pieces of raw foie gras while the blender is still running.  Leave the foie gras sauce in the blender to keep it warm.

While the potatoes are cooking and the shallots are caramelizing, put the duck breasts skin side down in a medium hot frying pan.  Cook for about 12 – 15 letting the fat render away, and allowing the skin to get crispy.  During the last minute or so, turn the breast over with meat side down.  Set the breasts aside and cover with foil.

Next, heat about one tablespoon olive oil and add the onion and jalapeno and cook until the onion is golden brown.  Add the cabbage and cook for about 10 minutes or until until cooked to your preference.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

When everything is ready, heat the pan with the rendered duck fat to medium high and sear the duck breasts for a minute or two.  Slice the duck breasts.

While the duck breasts are reheating, heat another frying pan to medium high.  Put the reserved larger pieces of foie gras in the hot pan.  Turn the foie gras over as each side gets golden brown. Remove the foie gras from the pan and cover with foil.

To plate, place a scoop of black truffle butter mashed potatoes on the plate. Put a serving of cabbage next to the potato.  Fan the duck slices slightly overlapping the potato.  Pour the foie gras sauce around the edges (the empty parts of the plate), leaving a pool of foie gras sauce in each plate. Place the seared foie gras on the outside edge of the plate near the potato.

This recipe is quite easy to prepare, especially if you have good quality stock on hand. Flash frozen portioned foie gras would work equally well in this recipe allowing you to skip the cleaning and deveining procedure.

Verjus is the juice of unfermented grapes and is used similarly to vinegar.  It can be used for salad dressing and sauces, and has the benefit of being less acidic, therefore pairing better with wine.

Serves 4 – 6

Ingredients

• 1 Duck foie gras, 1.5 lbs
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 1/2 cup white verjus
• 1/2 cup “fond brun” (A rich, brown stock. See recipe below.)
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 lb of peeled white grapes or gooseberries for garnish

Instructions

First devein the foie gras and slice it into 8 – 10 pieces, each piece should be 3/4 inch to 1 inch thick. Sprinkle the foie gras slices with salt, then dust the slices on each side with flour.

Heat a heavy frying pan over medium high heat.  When the pan is hot, but not smoking, place the foie gras slices in the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side to obtain a golden color.  The fat that renders in the pan can be spooned over the foie gras to assist the cooking process.  Do not overcook the foie gras.  Ideally, the foie gras will be golden and crispy on the outside and somewhat molten on the inside.  Keep the foie gras warm between two heated plates (the foie gras will cook a little more while it is resting).

Heat the rendered fat from the foie gras itself (you may want to only use a portion of the fat), pour in the verjus, scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon and cook until it is reduced by half.  Pour in the “fond brun” and let it cook for another 1 or 2 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Place 2 slices on each plate, pour the sauce on top of the slices and garnish with the grapes or gooseberries.  Serve immediately.

Fond Brun Recipe

First, roast about 3 pounds of beef or veal bones in oven at 450° for 40 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time add 1 onion cut into 4 pieces, 2 sliced carrots and a sliced celery branch.

Pour the mixture in a clean sauce pan. Add 8 pints of water, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 1 bouquet garni and 6 pepper corns. Let it simmer for 3 to 4 hours, skimming often.

Strain the mixture many times, while pressing the mixture in order to retrieve the juice and refrigerate. Remove the solid oil from the top.

This makes 4 pints of fond brun.