Muscovy Duck with Eggplant and Portobello

Countryside family farms is an fantastic local (Austin) farm raising a variety of animals in a natural, sustainable, humane way. They provide most of the local restaurants and farmers markets with their high quality meats. Just like everyone else they are being affected by the lack of demand because of the restaurants having to occupate at less than half capacity. Why not help out the local supply and buy some of the most pristine product I’ve ever have worked with. Sebastian is the farmer and will delivery during this time with any order over $100. On this occasion he literally processed them a day or two before and then drove it over personally to deliver it. You can’t get much better than that unless you own a farm with the animals. Here is recipe for duck with eggplant puree and portobello mushrooms, I hope you enjoy it!

Recipe ingredients

2 muscovy duck breast scored on the skin

3 tbsp of cilantro jalapeno oil (1 large jalapeños, 1 small bunches of cilantro, 1 garlic clove, 1 cup of olive oil)

salt to taste

Eggplant potato puree

1 eggplant peeled and diced

1 large yukon potato

1 tsp of each fresh chopped thyme and oregano

2 tbsp of butter

salt and pepper

1 small leek sliced 1/8 inch thick washed and blanched

2 portobellos

salt and pepper

For the eggplant puree,

Place peeled eggplant and potato in a pot of salted water. Bring to a boil and then turn down and simmer for 12-15 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through. Strain off the water and then add thyme, oregano, and butter to the eggplant and potatoes. With a hand blender or food processor puree the vegetables until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, set aside and keep warm.

For the duck,

Remove the duck breast from the carcass if you happen to have the whole duck. Score the skin of the duck breast and marinate the duck for at least 1 hour in the cilantro-jalapeno oil. When you are ready to cook the breast take a medium hot pan and place the duck skin side down in the pan. Allow to cook on medium heat for 25-30 minutes. You want to render that fat down as much as possible. The fat will start to accumulate in the pan and you can pour some of the excess fat into a heat proof container. About 17 minutes into the cooking process I added sliced portobellos to the pan and allowed them to cook in the duck fat. Cook the mushrooms for 4-5 minutes on each side and then season them with salt and pepper. Once the duck breast skin has rendered all the way down flip the duck breast over for 1 minute and allow to cook. Then take out and allow to rest for at least 8 minutes.

To finish,

Place a few spoonfuls of the eggplant-potato puree to the plate. Add a few slices of the portobello to the plate. Slice the duck breast and place next to the eggplant puree. Finish with some blanched leeks. Serve and enjoy!