On the way home from looking at a car for my stepdaughter in Chicago I stopped at the Kroger at 5 Mile Road and Beechmont. I was there for two things, but came away with four.
I don't usually buy from the meat counter. I find perfectly elegant cuts of meat in the 'day old' section at a fraction of yesterday's pricing, and can usually find three things to do with them. Life is good.
However .. as you may know (and if you didn't before, you do now) I am truly fond of duck, in all forms. Barbequed from Montgomery Inn, roasted, stir fried, pressed from Beijing - if it is on a menu I will probably order it. Then there was a time in New Orleans when I stumbled into a restaurant that was having a duck festival AND a garlic festival .. and they overlapped...
I saved the very last duck breast in the case from its fate (in this situation, probably the fate of being taken home and cooked by someone else instead of undergoing this present apotheosis). Half a pound, and only $4.50. A bargain! Then the eternal question: how to prepare it so it fits within the rule and we stay within 2000 calories for the day.
Well, onions and mushrooms and red wine always go together. In this case they did remarkable things. I looked, and did find a recipe calling for duck breasts sauteed in olive oil with shallots and wild mushrooms but didn't go there. To my way of thinking there's no significant difference between shallots and onions (a slightly different flavor but a similar form factor). In a sauce with wine, salt and pepper most mushrooms will taste similar - I won't say the same. And .. excuse me .. putting EVOO (i.e. 'Extra Virgin Olive Oil') in a dish with a duck is gilding the lily. The duck itself has oil enough, and a strong flavor that tends to overpower the olive oil.
So the recipe came down to pretty much what I had on hand already, plus the duck. OK .. I bought a box of baby 'bellas at the store because I was there and I could, though white mushrooms would have done just fine. While I actually had a couple of shallots in the cupboard I chose not to use them.
I prepared the dish like this:
Ingredients:
8 oz skinless boneless duck breast
1C sliced mushrooms
1 yellow onion, sliced
1/4C dry red wine
olive Pam
salt and pepper to taste
chopped parsley for garnish
Method:
heat the oven to 300° and spray a nonstick skillet with the olive pam
cut the duck breast in half, pat dry and season lightly with salt and pepper
saute for 12 minutes, turning frequently, using more Pam if dry
remove to a plate to catch drippings and place in the oven to warm
add the mushrooms and onions to the pan dripping (use more Pam if needed)
season lightly with salt and pepper
when the mixture has cooked down, add the wine and simmer 10 minutes
add the dripping thrown off by the duck breast to the pan
remove the mushrooms and onions with a slotted spoon
turn the heat to high and reduce the sauce
Serving:
arrange the melange on the serving plate
top with a half duck breast
pour the reduced sauce over both
garnish with chopped parsley.
While the duck was cooking I sliced and grilled a yellow squash and two small zucchini. I arranged them on the plate, and served them with leftover Romesca sauce. A glass of red wine from our private collection completed the dinner. Nobody was hungry later.
Who has leftover Romesca sauce? And what is it, anyway?
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It took 30 minutes to make the whole dinner .. the time it takes Nancy to drive home from work.
Serves two, each:
calories: 231
carboydrates: 20 grams
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for comparison, see:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sauteed-Duck-Breasts-with-Wild-Mushrooms-232881
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