Pink duck breast with sage sauce and forgotten vegetables
A gourmet and elegant dish combining authentic flavors with the warmth of the holiday season.
Ingredients - for 4 people
Duck breast:
- 2 duck breasts
- Fine salt
- Ground black pepper
- 100 g butter
- 2 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
- 5 sprigs thyme
Vegetable garnish:
- 150 g sweet potato
- 300 ml double cream
- Fine salt
- Ground black pepper
- 5 sprigs thyme
- 150 g parsnips
- 100 ml olive oil
Sauce:
- 200 g shallots
- 100 ml poultry stock
- 15 g sage
- 100 ml red wine
- 50 ml maple syrup
- 20 ml sherry vinegar
- 20 g cornflour
Preparation
Duck breast:
- Preheat the oven to 65°C.
- Trim excess fat, remove sinews, and score the duck skin.
- In a pan, sear the duck breasts skin-side down with butter, garlic cloves, and thyme.
- Season with salt and pepper, baste with the butter, and sear for a few minutes.
- Once browned, place the duck on a rack to drain excess fat.
- Bake in the oven for around 50 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 63°C.
- Once the temperature is reached, remove from the oven.
Sweet potato purée:
- Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into chunks.
- Bring salted water (10 g coarse salt per liter) to a boil and cook the sweet potato pieces for 20 minutes.
- Check tenderness, then drain using a colander.
- Mash the pieces using a vegetable mill.
- Add cream, a drizzle of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
- For a smoother texture, blend the purée for 1–2 minutes.
Roasted parsnips with thyme:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Peel the parsnips and cut them into rounds or pieces 1–2 cm thick.
- Place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, pepper, and thyme sprigs.
- Roast for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking.
- Remove once golden on the outside and tender inside.
Maple syrup and sage sauce:
- Finely chop the shallots and sage.
- In a sauté pan, sweat the shallots until soft.
- Add the maple syrup and lightly caramelize the shallots.
- Deglaze with sherry vinegar.
- Add red wine, poultry stock, and sage.
- Let the mixture reduce.
- Mix the cornflour with a little water and incorporate it into the sauce to thicken.
- Once the sauce has a coating consistency, set it aside off the heat.