LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Bacon-wrapped, Pear-pine nut stuffed Duck Breast with Caramelized Turnip and Black Garlic Sauce


Artisan Bistro's Bacon-wrapped Duck Breast with Caramelized Turnip and Black Garlic Sauce Photo Susie Iventosch

(serves 4)
INGREDIENTS

2 one-pound duck breasts, skin removed and butter-flied, keeping one side attached

10 thin slices bacon

4-6 turnips

3 tablespoons butter

1 recipe Asian pear stuffing (recipe below)

1 recipe black garlic sauce (recipe below)

Bitter greens (such as arugula) for garnish
DIRECTIONS
Remove skin and fat from duck breast. Butterfly breast in half, keeping one side intact.
Add Asian pear stuffing mixture in center of duck breast and roll breast into a cylinder.
Place 5 pieces of bacon on cutting board, overlapping each other by 1/8 inch. Place rolled duck breast on top and roll up, rolling away from you. You may need to secure with kitchen string or toothpicks, but the bacon should hold the roll together.
Sear bacon-wrapped duck breasts on all sides in skillet. Then discard rendered bacon fat and roast in 375-degree oven for 6-8 minutes, rotating every 2-3 minutes. (We grilled on the barbecue for 8 minutes, rotating every 2 minutes, cooking 2 minutes per side.)
Remove from oven and let rest for a few minutes. Slice into 1/2-3/4 inch slices. Serve over a bed of arugula and drizzle black garlic sauce over all.

Asian Pear and Pine Nut Stuffing
INGREDIENTS

1/2 Asian pear, julienned

1/8 cup pine nuts

2 tablespoons simple syrup (1 part sugar dissolved in 1 part hot water)

1 shallot, finely chopped (Susie's addition)

1 tablespoon chopped thyme

1 tablespoon chopped parsley
DIRECTIONS
Toss together first three (or four if you add shallots) ingredients, then roast on parchment or on Silpat (non-stick baking mat) in 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven, add parsley and thyme, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside until ready to stuff duck breast.

Black Garlic Sauce
INGREDIENTS

1 cup reduced chicken stock

1-2 heads fermented garlic (Marquez suggests using roasted garlic instead if you don't happen to have fermented garlic. To make fermented garlic visit: http://blackgarlic.com/how-its-made)
Salt to taste
DIRECTIONS
Heat stock until boiling. Place liquid in blender, add garlic and salt. *I actually reduced the stock over the stove and the squeezed the roasted garlic into the broth, discarding all skin. Then I put the sauce in the processor before reheating to serve.

Caramelized Turnips
Instead of making the caramelized turnip puree, we stopped right at the point in Marquez's recipe, where the turnips were caramelized. They were so delicious this way, with soft insides and crispy edges. But Marquez adds milk to the turnips after the caramelizing process and cooks until turnips are soft. Then he removes the turnips from the milk and processes the turnips along with extra butter, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. This is what we did:
INGREDIENTS

4-6 turnips, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch thin wedges (you'll want at least one per person)

1/2 cube butter

Salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
In a large frying pan, cook butter over medium-high heat until browned and bubbly. Add turnips and continue to cook until caramelized and beginning to get crispy on the edges. To keep warm until serving, keep pan on very low heat and just before serving crank up the heat to re-crisp. I am sure the pureed turnips are delicious, but we just had to stop here, because they were so great this way!