Fed Up - By Jessica Conant-Park & Susan Conant Page 0,95
duck breasts fat side down. They will sizzle and smoke. An amazing amount of fat will be rendered off. Cook on the first side for about 10-12 minutes. Most of the fat layer will be gone, but some should be left. Turn the breasts and cook another 10 minutes. Timing will vary depending on the size of the breasts, but they should be a nice deep rosy pink. Do not overcook. Remove to a serving platter or plate.
Pour off all the fat from the pan and add the orange mixture and red wine. Cook this mixture down until slightly syrupy. Add the duck breasts and heat through, basting with the sauce.
Slice the breasts across the grain at an angle into thin slices and arrange in a fan on each plate. Place an orange slice or two beside the breast and top with a dribbling of sauce. Voilá!
Sauté the tomatoes, peppers, fennel, and onions in the butter until tender. Add the garlic, tomato paste, and white wine, and cook for 10 minutes. Add the fish stock or clam juice and simmer for 1 hour. Add the mussels and saffron, and simmer until the mussels open. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Grilled Tuna Served
with Couscous Tabbouleh, Tropical Fruit
Chutney, and Mint Tarragon Dressing
Raymond Ost
Serves 6
Tuna
6 6-oz. center-cut tuna steaks
Olive oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
Brush tuna with olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Grill for 2 minutes on each side over medium-high heat for medium-rare doneness.
Tabbouleh
1 box couscous (small grain)
3 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 bunches flat parsley, chopped (not too fine)
1 red onion, chopped
1/2 bunch scallions, chapped
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
6 sprigs lemon verbena (optional) for garnish Salt and pepper to taste
Cook couscous as directed on box. Cool completely. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to your liking.
Dressing
1 cup olive oil
Juce of 2 lemons
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 bunch mint, chopped
1 bunch tarragon, leaves only
2 roasted red peppers (seeded and skinned)
Whisk ingredients together and set aside.
Tropical Fruit Chutney
1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and diced
mangoes, diced
red onion, diced
tomatoes, diced
1/2 bunch mint, chopped
1/2 bunch chopped parsley
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tbsp. Honey
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2-1 small babanero pepper, chopped (Note:These peppers are extremely hot. Please wear gloves when handling. Use pepper sparingly.)
Mix all ingredients together and macerate for 24 hours.
To Serve
Make a bed of tabbouleh, place a tuna steak on that, and top with a few tablespoons of the fruit chutney. Drizzle the dish with dressing and add lemon verbena for garnish, if you like.
Celery Root Soup with Foie Gras, Truffle Honey, and Pickled Honeycrisp Apples
Chef Erik Battes, Chef de Cuisine at Perry Street
New York, New York
Serves 6-8
Celery Root Soup
2 large celery roots
6 tbsp. butter
2 shallots, sliced thin
12 oz. chicken stock Salt, to taste
Peel and cut celery root in even, large dice. Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat and sweat the shallots until tender. Add the celery root and the chicken stock and cook until the celery root is completely tender. Puree in a blender and season to taste with salt.
Pickled Honeycrisp Apples
1 cup champagne vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
1/2 cup sugar
2 Honeyscrip apples ( or other crisp, juicy apples), peeled and cut into small dice
Combine the champagne vinegar and sugar in a pot. Bring to a boil and then cool down. Cover the diced apples with the vinegar and sugar mixture (pickling solution) and let sit for at least 30 minutes. The pickled apples should hold for about 2 hours.
Glazed Celery Root
1/4 cup butter
3 tbsp. water
Salt, to taste
1 celery root, small dice
Combine butter and water in a pot and cook over high heat until the liquid becomes homogenous and creamy. Season the butter and water with salt to taste. Add the celery root and simmer gently until tender. Remove from heat and reserve.
Seared Foie Gras
Foie gras, 1-oz. piece per serving
Sea salt, coarse
Black pepper, coarsely ground
Heat a dry pan until aggressively hot. Place the foie gras in the pan and cook on one side until it is 85 percent cooked. Then flip the foie gras, cook for 15 seconds, and then remove from the pan. Season immediately with the coarse sea salt and black pepper.