Duck a l'orange, Revised Multicultural Edition

We return to the works of Nigella Lawson this time, with a rather nice way to deal with a duck breast. Several stores in my area carry frozen duck breasts, and although they’re not cheap, they’re affordable enough that I can indulge in them from time to time. However, the duck breast isn’t mandatory by any means—indeed, before I lived in a locale where duck was readily available, I used to make this recipe with a nice little strip steak, which works beautifully. A tuna steak will also suffice should you prefer to avoid red meat altogether. If you wish to avoid animal protein entirely, I suspect that a Portobello mushroom, marinated and grilled/broiled would work reasonably well, although I confess I haven’t tried it myself.

This one is from Lawson’s book (and eponymous television show) Nigella Bites. It’s from the “Temple Food” chapter—as in “My body is a temple” (original recipe can be found below). It’s actually a reasonably healthful recipe—far more so than most of the things that I tout on this little blog. Although duck has a huge amount of fat under the skin, we’re going to render most of that out of it, leaving the final dish much leaner, should such things concern you. Surprisingly (at least to me), the meat of the duck (sans skin) is actually leaner than turkey, and the fat is actually healthier than most animal fats; so although duck might be a bit of a splurge pricewise, it needn’t be from a dietary perspective.

“Dietary.” Even typing the word makes me shudder.

Onward. Here we have a duck breast. This one weighs about a pound, which will serve two people quite nicely (the final weight will be less once we’ve rendered most of the fat from the skin).

Take a sharp knife and score a diamond pattern in the skin. This will assist in rendering the fat and crisping up the skin.

Season the duck on both sides with salt and pepper, and put it skin-side-down in a skillet. Turn the heat to low, and let the duck slowly sputter and sizzle away until the most of the fat has rendered out and the skin is crisp. Depending on the size of the duck breast, this can take as long as 15 or 20 minutes. Don’t rush it by turning up the heat; we don’t want to risk burning the skin.

While the duck is cooking, we shall make a dressing/sauce. Combine the juice of half an orange, the juice of half a lime, and about 2 tsp of grated ginger. I had clementines rather than oranges, so I used them instead. Should you be able to obtain Seville (bitter) oranges, you can use them and omit the lime juice.

Now add 2 Tbl of Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce (nam pla or nuoc nam, respectively), a few drops of dark sesame oil, and 1 tsp chili paste (or to taste). Mix these with the juice/ginger mixture, and your dressing is complete. I used sambal oleek, a jarred chili paste that is usually available in the Asian foods aisle of the supermarket. If it’s not available, you can use a minced jalapeño or Fresno chili, or whatever other chili product suits you.

You also need to throw some salad greens together. I’m using a mixture of spinach and arugula.

By this time, the duck skin should be browned and crisp. Drain off the rendered duck fat—there will be quite a lot of it—BUT DO NOT THROW IT AWAY. Sorry to resort to capitals, but YOU MUST SAVE THE DUCK FAT. Once you’ve had potatoes cooked in duck fat, you’ll never go back. Or something like that. You get the idea. Save the damned duck fat. It will keep, covered, in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

Next, increase the heat to medium high, and turn the duck breast over to sear it on the flesh side for just a minute or two—unlike other birds, duck can be served medium rare, which is how I prefer it. But if you prefer yours more done, you can cook it longer. Btw, if you’re using a beef or tuna steak instead of duck, just cook it according to your usual fashion, again, preferably to medium rare, but to whatever doneness you like.

As you’ve probably read before, it’s best to let cooked meats rest for a bit before cutting into them. Give the duck at least 5 minutes or so before you slice it.

Toss the salad with some of the dressing and put it on a plate. Lay the duck slices artfully on top, drizzle them with dressing, and serve it forth.

I’m not much of a food stylist, but here’s a more stylish arrangement of the same dish when I made it a year or two ago. Leopard prints are the classic accompaniment to duck, btw. 

Bon appetìt, y’all.

From Nigella Lawson, Nigella Bites:

Gingery Hot Duck Salad

1 duck breast

2 Tbl fish sauce (nam pla)

juice of ½ lime and ½ orange, or of 1 Seville orange

1 small red chili, chopped

1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger, grated

few drops sesame oil (optional)

2 ounces (about ¼ cup) baby spinach, watercress, lamb’s lettuce, or a mixture

Grill or sauté the duck breast—fat side down if not removed—for 10 to 12 minutes or until it’s cooked to juicy pinkness.

Let it rest on a board while you mix the fish sauce, lime juice, orange juice (or just Seville-orange juice), chili, ginger and optional sesame oil together in a bowl.

Pour any juices that the duck has made into the bowl, and then carve the meat on the diagonal into thin slices. Toss the sliced duck into the bowl and stir everything well. Turn it out onto a serving plate covered with the salad leaves.

Serves 2.