Recipes

Roasted Duck Breast With Hazelnut And Fregola Risotto

Paul Corsentino|

Roasted Duck Breast With Hazelnut And Fregola Risotto
3.4 (15 ratings)
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Looking to impress some dinner guests? Look no further than this recipe. Who can resist a perfectly cooked duck breast with a fruity gastrique? It's a feast for the senses, and although there are a few different components involved, they each come together with ease. See all hazelnut recipes.
Servings
5
Ingredients
  • 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
  • 2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup frangelico hazelnut liqueur
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 teaspoon hazelnut oil
  • 3 cup chicken stock
  • salt, to taste
  • 1 cup fregola sarda pasta
  • 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon grated parmesan
  • 2 tablespoon chopped hazelnuts, toasted
  • 1 tablespoon hazelnut oil
  • 3 pieces endive, halved
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 quart pomegranate juice
  • 1 cup frangelico hazelnut liqueur
  • 5 medium-sized duck breasts
  • salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
  1. Place the cut sweet potato and heavy cream in a saucepot and bring to a simmer. Cook the sweet potatoes until they are tender and drain. Reserve the cream.
  2. Place the sweet potatoes in a blender and purée on high speed along with the butter, Frangelico, and a touch of the cream from the cooking process. Purée until smooth. Pass the purée through a fine-meshed sieve. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and the hazelnut oil.
  3. Place the chicken stock in a pot, season with salt, to taste, and bring to a boil over high heat. Then, add the fregola and cook until tender. Drain and stir in the butter, cheese, hazelnuts, and hazelnut oil.
  4. Preheat a gas grill over medium heat, or prepare a charcoal grill.
  5. Place the endive in a medium-sized sauté pan over medium-high heat with the canola oil and butter. When the endive has colored, turn and repeat. Continue to cook the endive until almost tender. Then, add the sherry vinegar and remove from the heat. To finish the endive, place on the grill and cook until tender.
  6. In a saucepot, reduce the pomegranate juice over high heat by ¾. Then, add the Frangelico and reduce for about 1 more minute.
  7. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
  8. Trim the duck breasts of fat, but make sure to leave a little around the edges since the skin will shrink as it cooks. Lightly score the skin in a crisscross pattern using a sharp knife, making sure not to penetrate all the way through to the flesh. (If you remove too much fat or score the skin down to the flesh, the meat will dry out.)
  9. Season the duck breast with salt and pepper, to taste, and place skin side down in a sauté pan large enough to accommodate the breasts without crowding over medium-low heat. Cook the breast slowly to render off the fat, about 5 minutes.
  10. Turn the duck breast over and cook over high heat for 1 minute, then place in the oven. Cook the duck until it has reached an internal temperature of 132 degrees. Remove from the oven, let the duck rest, then slice, and serve with the sweet potato purée, risotto, grilled endive, and gastrique.
 
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