Duck and black truffles are some of Jp's favorite things. So when I come across black truffles at the market I have to get some. This dish was inspired a little from a dinner I had years ago at Eleven madison park where I had celery root puree with black truffle sauce that was really a perfect dish. I didn't use celery root but I did make a black truffle sauce along with a potato puree. I didn't sous vide or do too much other than marinate the duck a little. Jp likes his duck a little more medium than medium rare so the picture reflects that temperature. This was really a big hit and I was happy the way it all turned out.
2 duck breast cleaned and scored
1 tbsp black truffle oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove sliced
1 rosemary sprig
Black truffle sauce
1/2 onion sliced
1 portobello sliced
2 garlic cloves sliced
1 leek sliced
1 cup of stems from oyster, shitake, beech
1 cup of shiitake mushrooms sliced
1 can of black truffle juice
4 cups of chicken stock
1 sprig of thyme
2 tbsp of cornstarch
2 tbsp of water
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp of chopped black truffles
Potato Puree
2 lb of potato peeled and large chopped
1/2 cup of milk
1 1/4 stick butter
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup of blanched fava beans
2 leeks sliced 1/2 inch rounds washed
4 oz of white and brown beech mushrooms stems removed for sauce
2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp of olive oil
Black truffle to garnish
For the potato puree,
Simply add chopped potatoes into a pot and fill with water. Add a few tsp of salt and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until tender. Strain off the water and pass the potatoes through a food mill. Then add potatoes back to the pot and add milk, butter, salt, and pepper. Stir until well mixed and seasoned well. Cover and keep warm.
For the truffle sauce,
Take onions, leeks, mushrooms, stems and scraps of mushrooms, garlic, chicken stock, truffle juice, thyme and place in a pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer very lightly until the stock has reduce by half. Then make a slurry by mixing water and cornstarch together. Bring the stock back to a boil and stir in the cornstarch slurry. Turn down again and simmer for 10 minutes. Then strain out the sauce through a fine strainer, set aside, and keep warm.
For the duck,
Season with the duck breast with salt and pepper. In a screaming hot, cast iron skillet, add the duck breast skin side down. After 1 minute turn the heat down to medium low. Cook the duck breast for about 15 to 20 minutes on low so the skin slowly renders down. You can pour out of some of the fat if there is too much in the pan. Once all the skin has rendered down to a "bacon" state, flip the duck breast over for 20 seconds and then place on a cutting board to rest for at least 5 minutes.
To Finish,
In a hot saucepan add butter, olive oil, and sliced leeks. Cook for one minute and then add your mushrooms. Try to keep the leeks intact for now. Cook for 5 minutes flipping the leeks over half way through. Add the fava beans and cook for another minute. Season with salt and pepper. Place two spoonfuls of mashed potato on the plate. Then add the diced truffles to the sauce. Place the leeks, mushrooms, and fava beans around the puree. Take the duck and slice in half lengthwise, place it next to the puree. Spoon in the sauce and top the dish off with a little fresh sliced black truffle. Serve and enjoy!
