Duck a L'Orange

(Blathering Blatherskite!)

Duck is one of my recent and most joyous discoveries in the meat department. Out of favor in most kitchens, though not altogether too difficult to find. When cooking duck, the distinctive bit everyone seems to talk about is the fattiness of the bird. While it's certainly true that the breast cut especially has a very thick layer of fat, it's best not to trim it, but instead let it render; for future frying, or, you know, rolling around in. Unfortunately, we lost all ours this time, due to a tragic "clean as you go" accident. The humanity!

The final dish in our Top Chef series was Duck a L'Orange. I have to admit, never having even come close to cooking duck before, and only having sampled it a precious few times out to eat, this one was instantly slated for last. A combination of fear and reverence lead my to Julia Child's recipe, which we duplicated faithfully, aside from one small detail. Not wanting to cook and eat a whole duck, we instead came across some IQF breasts, which we quickly seared off under the broiler instead of roasting.

The yeild on the orange sauce was suprising; half the portion would have been sufficient. I froze the remainder with the leftover breast, to have when Amy's not looking. As you might guess, we were split on this one. I thought it was excellent, tender, well balanced (though the sauce was a touch on the sweet side). Amy was not at all impressed, and didn't see what all the fuss was about.

What we did agree on, however, was that neither of us like watercress. It was just a touch off-putting. Undetered and unwilling to waste the leftover greens, I've been eating them on ham sandwiches all week. I have to say, in a salad, not a good thing. On a sandwich, quite the contrary. The greens were dressed with a pistacio-dijon sauce of my own invention, which was surprisingly lacking in saltiness. The better part of the foil for the duck was the lentils; a quick favorite of mine, they've even grown on Amy now!

Lentil and Watercress Bedding for Poultry
(Serves 2)

2 ounces onions
2 ounces carrots
1 tsp bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme
1 pepper
2/3 cup chicken broth
2 ounces lentils
4 cups watercress
1 tbsp pistachios
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp honey
2 tbsp red wine vinegar

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the onions, carrots, bay, and thyme until the onions are translucent and the carrots are soft. Season with pepper to taste.

Add the lentils and let them cook dry for a few minutes to absorb the flavors in the pan. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Cover, cook 15 minutes or until lentils are tender.

Mix chopped pistachios, dijon, honey, and vinegar until well combined. Place a spoonful of the cooked lentil mixture in the middle of the plate. Surround with watercress, and dress both with the vinegar mixture. Top with poultry.