Posted in Duck, Food, Rhône, Syrah, Wine, tagged Broccoli, Chilli, Duck, Farro, Garlic, red wine, Rhone, Spelt, St-Joseph, Syrah on 29 November 2010|
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I’ve had Georgio Locatelli’s Made in Italy for yonks now but had yet to try any of the recipes until tonight. We had some duck breasts and were looking for a tasty recipe without too many ingredients. This fitted the bill perfectly except one of the ingredients proved very difficult to find – if you live in Dublin you can get farro or spelt in Fallon & Byrne but we had to go twice to find it!
After all this faffing about looking for farro you can’t even see it in our picture. I promise that is there though (under the duck breast).
This was absolutely fabulous and quite straight forward though I recommend you get organised with all the pans and stuff before you start.
Duck breast with brocoli (for 4 people)
4 duck breasts
4 tablespoons farro (spelt)
145ml extra-virgin olive oil
2 heads of broccoli, separated into florets
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced
salt and pepper
- Take the duck breasts out of the fridge about an hour before you start.
- Soak the farro in cold water for 20 minutes, then drain.
- Preheat oven to 220C (gas 7).
- Bring a pan of unsalted water to the boil and cook the farro for 15 minutes (salted water will make it go hard). Drain and tip onto a tray or big plate. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over and toss to coat the grains and keep them separate. Give them a jiggle every few minutes so they don’t stick together.
- Blanch the broccoli in boiling salted water for a minute or two to just soften it. Drain and set aside.
- Score the skin and season the duck; this helps the fat to render. Heat an oven-proof saute pan to medium-hot, then put in the duck, skin-side down, and cook until it turns golden (about 6 minutes). Turn over and cook for 1 minute, then turn down the heat. Take the duck out and keep warm.
- Drain the fat off the pan, add the Worcestershire sauce and 3 tablespoons of the remaining oil. Stir to emulsify and turn off the heat.
- Heat a saute pan, add the remaining oil, followed by the garlic and chilli, and cook without colouring for a few minutes.Add the broccoli and saute without allowing to colour, until just soft. Season.
- In a separate pan, fry the farro without any extra oil until slightly crisp (drain off excess oil as you go). Season.
- Put the duck into a roasting tray and put in the oven for 2-3 minutes (or more if you like it more done).
- Spoon the farro into the middle of the plates, and arrange the broccoli around it with the oil.
- Slice the duck and put on top of the farro and finish with the sauce.
This was so tasty Jono wanted a second helping even though he was stuffed!
We served this with a glass of red 2005 Saint Joseph ‘Les Pierres Leches’ from Yves Cuilleron. Nice medium weight so it doesn’t overwhelm the food but a really tasty and flavoursome Syrah at the same time. Highly recommended.
Julie
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Harvey Nichols, Plan de Dieu, Cotes du Rhone Villages, 2008 €14.95
Jono & Jules do food & wine 