Pan-Seared Magret de Canard...Pan-Seared Magret de Canard with Blackberry-Port Reduction & Vanilla Parsnip Purée

An elegant French masterpiece featuring perfectly rendered duck breast with a crispy skin, paired with a velvety, vanilla-infused parsnip purée and a deeply aromatic blackberry and port wine reduction.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   For the purée, place chopped parsnips, heavy cream, and the split vanilla bean pod and seeds in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, cover, and cook for 20 minutes until the parsnips are completely tender. Remove the vanilla pod, transfer parsnips and cream to a high-speed blender, add 25g of butter, and process until silky and aerated. Season with salt and keep warm.

2. 02

   Score the skin of the duck breasts in a tight crosshatch pattern, being careful not to cut into the meat. Season both sides generously with Fleur de sel and freshly cracked black pepper.

3. 03

   Place the duck breasts, skin-side down, in a cold, dry, heavy-bottomed skillet. Place over low-medium heat. Slowly render the fat for 12-15 minutes, pouring off the excess fat periodically into a bowl, until the skin is golden-brown and extremely crispy.

4. 04

   Turn the breasts over to the flesh side and sear for 3 to 4 minutes for medium-rare (internal temperature of 54°C / 130°F). Transfer the duck to a warm plate, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

5. 05

   To make the reduction, discard all but 1 tablespoon of duck fat from the skillet. Sauté the minced shallot over medium heat for 2 minutes until translucent. Deglaze the pan with the Port wine, scraping up the browned bits, and reduce by half.

6. 06

   Add the veal stock, honey, thyme sprigs, lavender buds, and half of the fresh blackberries (lightly crushed). Simmer until the sauce thickens to a syrup-like consistency. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh chinois into a clean saucepan.

7. 07

   Set the strained sauce over low heat, whisk in the remaining 50g of cold cubed butter one piece at a time to emulsify (monter au beurre), and stir in the remaining whole blackberries. Season to taste.

8. 08

   To serve, carve the rested duck breasts on a bias. Spoon a generous swoosh of the vanilla parsnip purée onto pre-warmed plates. Arrange the sliced duck alongside, spoon the glossy blackberry-port reduction over the meat, and garnish with the whole glazed blackberries.