Pan-Roasted Duck Breast with...Pan-Roasted Duck Breast with Vanilla-Scented Sunchoke Purée and Dark Cherry Reduction

An exquisite modern French dish featuring crisp-skinned duck breast paired with silky, vanilla-infused Jerusalem artichoke purée and a glossy cherry-Cognac reduction.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   Place the diced sunchokes into a small saucepan with salted water, bring to a simmer, and cook for 15-20 minutes until completely tender.

2. 02

   Drain sunchokes and transfer to a high-speed blender with heavy cream, 30g of butter, and scraped vanilla seeds. Blend until velvety smooth, then pass through a fine chinois. Season with fine salt and keep warm.

3. 03

   Score the duck breast skin in a tight cross-hatch pattern without cutting into the flesh. Season generously with kosher salt on both sides.

4. 04

   Place duck breasts skin-side down in a cold, heavy-bottomed skillet over low-medium heat. Slowly render the skin fat for 12-14 minutes until the skin becomes deep golden and ultra-crisp.

5. 05

   Pour off excess duck fat (reserve for future use). Flip the duck breasts flesh-side down, add 20g butter and thyme sprigs to the pan, and baste continuously for 2-3 minutes for medium-rare (internal temp 54°C/130°F).

6. 06

   Remove duck breasts to a wire rack to rest for 8-10 minutes before slicing.

7. 07

   In the same pan over medium heat, add finely diced shallots and sauté for 1 minute. Flambé with Cognac, scraping up all browned bits.

8. 08

   Add duck stock and cherry halves. Simmer for 5-6 minutes until reduced to a glossy, coat-the-back-of-a-spoon consistency. Whisk in the remaining 30g cold butter to gloss the jus, then season with crushed pink peppercorns.

9. 09

   Spoon a smooth swoosh of warm vanilla-sunchoke purée onto warm plates. Thinly slice the rested duck breasts and fan over the purée. Nappe the cherry sauce around the plate and top duck with Fleur de sel.