Duck Breast with rhubarb port reduction and chilli chocolate sauce

 This recipe was inspired by one of the best meals I had in Valencia Spain at Refugio. Not only was it a fantastic meal; but, everyone else was having fish and I had a whole bottle of Pinot Noir to myself!

Ingredients:

2 Duck breasts
Vegetables (your choice)
carrots
zucchini
potatoes
spinach
seasoning:
olive oil
Thyme leaves flakes
Rosemary leaves flakes

 Chocolate Sauce:

1 bar dark chocolate (orange flavoured or plain) broken into small chunks
Two red chilli - sliced length wise and de-seeded (you can use chilli flakes instead)
1 Tsp to 1 Tbsp olive oil (or use chilli oil to do both these in one step)
Dash of salt

Rhubarb Sauce:

3 sticks rhubarb coarsely chopped
2/3 cup (150ml) red port
2/3 cup (150ml) chicken stock
1/8 cup fine sugar (icing sugar, caster sugar) depending on tartness of the rhubarb

Directions:

Rhubarb sauce:

In a medium pot put the rhubarb and sugar and heat for about 5 minutes on low-medium heat;

Add the port and bring to a boil for 2 minutes;

Add the chicken stock and continue to cook to reduce for about 10-15 minutes until the mixture resembles a sauce.

Duck:

Preheat the oven to 350;

Score the fat side of the duck breast in a nice diamond pattern making certain not to cut all the way through into the meat

Put the duck breasts skin side down in a frying pan on medium-high heat for about 1 1/2-2 1/2 minutes or until the skin has turned a light golden brown. Place in oven for 8-12 minutes. Make sure the skin does not become too dark. It is easy to over cook duck because we are use to cooking other meats and the colour is very dark, so set a timer. I have found the timing is close to the 8-9 minute mark for the breasts I buy.

Remove the duck and place on the cutting board tented with tin foil for 4-5 minutes. Do IT! it makes a huge difference to how juicy the duck will become.

Chocolate sauce:

You will need a pot that you can put water into and a metal bowl (it could be glass) to float on the water. It is important that the bowl sides do not touch the pot as this will heat the metal too much.

Heat the water. Place the chocolate, chillies and oil into the bowl and place on the hot water. Allow the chocolate to melt and stir gently to get all the chocolate to melt. The oil help keep the mixture in a liquid state and to prevent it from hardening, avoid heating and cooking the sauce for too long a time. This will take 5-8 minutes so start it around the time the duck is in the oven.

Vegetables:

You can choose many different veggies to accompany this dish. I often like sautéd spinach in butter but here I picked carrots, zucchini and potatoes.

Heat BBQ to medium-high heat. Oil grill just before putting veggies on grill with grape seed oil or your favourite high heat oil.

Boil potatoes: Place potatoes in a pot and cover over by an inch with cold water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer for 10 minutes. Check with a thin knife--it should go in without resistance. If not ready then keep checking every minute.

Drain and then coat with olive oil and seasoning.

Slice zucchini into 1/4 inch slices length wise.

 Place zucchini slices and carrots in a bowl and coat with olive oil and seasoning--thyme and rosemary is nice.

Grill zucchini and carrots on BBQ about 2 minutes a side until there are grill marks. The zucchini overcooks super fast so be watchful.

Roll zucchini up and place on edge for a beautiful look.

Pour the wine and arrange the duck and veggies on a warmed plate. Enjoy the silence as everyone starts to eat!

Watermelon, tomato and basil soup-salad

I've been thinking about making this dish for years now. While in Spain four of us lunched in Bilbao along the canal close to the Guggenheim Museum. Always wanting to try something different and interesting sounding I ordered a watermelon-tomato-basil salad. Much to my surprise there where squares of tomato and watermelon in a green liquid. I didn't know what the heck was going on. It took a moment  to realize it was what I ordered. Just not what was my preconceived idea of what I ordered! This is a soup-salad! Stretch the bounds of your imagination, lol.

My version is different slightly from the original that I had in Spain, well, because it was years ago and I didn't take notes. Plus the lunchtime wine makes it a little foggy in the memory banks.

Ingredients:

Watermelon
2-3 Tomatoes
2 cups fresh Basil
1/2 peeled English long Cucumber
Goat or feta cheese
Balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup (approx.) Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lemon juiced
Mint leaves

Directions:

1. Blend basil, cucumber and lemon juice in olive oil with a dash salt. Chill in refrigerator.

2. Cut tomatoes so you don't have any skin and watermelon into cubes (smallish). Alternatively, you can blanch and peel the tomatoes and make larger pieces. Wait to put tomato and watermelon onto plate until you pour in the basil because it will look cleaner.

3. Place in shallow bowl and pour a small amount of basil in bottom of bowl

4. Crumble cheese around and on cubes

5. Sprinkle mint leaves

6. Drizzle balsamic over top

7. Serve immediately while basil "soup" is cold

This is a great summertime dish that is fun and refreshing. Serve it with some Prosecco Frissante - Villa Teresa Organic to make a fancy dinner party or with soda water made from a Sodastream for lunches and for the kids.

Alternative options:

Instead of cheese, mint and balsamic use curly lettuce, a few bean sprouts and small slices of kalamata olives on top of the watermelon and tomato pieces.

HOLIDAY time

Well we are entering the busy time of year where time is at a premium. I am taking a breather from the blog until the new year. Enjoy yourselves! I look forward to more post in 2018.

Smiling,
Robert

Shallot Tart

Finger food, perfect for entertaining. Look great with minimal effort. Add chilled champagne, white or red wine and someone to share conversation with and you are set!

Ingredients:

6-7 shallots peeled and sliced
Puff pastry 6"x10" approximately
1 Egg or you can use olive oil
Olive oil
salt
parchment paper

Directions:

1. Peel and slice shallots

2. Place in frying pan with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and 1-2 teaspoons of salt

3. Sauté on medium-low heat until caramelized, approximately 30-40 minutes. You can get other things ready and check on them every few minutes if the stove isn't too hot. When they are ready you can put it on low and then start the puff pastry

4. Preheat the grill (or oven) to 450

5. Take puff pasty out of freezer and place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet

6. Skore a line about 1/4" from the edge all the way around the edge of the puff pastry

7. Crack egg into a bowl and mix the yolk and white together.

8. Brush the around the edge of the puff pastry with the raw egg. If you are out of eggs you can use olive oil

9. Place the puff pastry on the cookie sheet on the grill and close the lid. Cook for 4-5 minutes until it is "puffed up" and slightly browned

10. Remove the puff pastry from the grill

11. Press down the centre of the pastry leaving the edge taller

12. Fill the centre of the puff pastry with your shallot mixture and spread around evenly

13. Cut the pastry into bit sized pieces and serve on a beautiful plater like you can find on PotteryLove.com

Be sure to that there is at least one piece left for the chef to eat!

Perfect Paella

This could be my favourite dish. You know that question: "What would you like for your last meal?" Well, this might be the one. There's such a collection of seafood on the top you almost can't believe it. It takes about 2 hours to make and will cost a small fortune but it WILL be the best paella you've ever had- EVER!

I will give quantities for 2 sizes- piggy or EXTRA piggy (or 8 vs 12 people)

Ingredients for 8 people 

(in a 13 inch paella pan)

• 1 1/4 pounds ripe tomatoes
• 1 medium onion chopped (or a little less)
• 1 1/2 bell peppers (red, yellow and orange; seeded and chopped)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 4 Tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 1 heaping Tsp salt (Maldon)
• 3 cups Arborio rice (or Spanish Valenciano rice)
• 14 muscles (scrubbed and beards pulled off
• 14 clams
• 14 medium shrimp or prawns (deveined and tails removed, 3-4 with shell on for extra flavour)
• 2 full chorizo (about 1 pound) cut diagonally thinly
• 1/2 Tsp saffron
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/4 cups dry white wine
• 6 Tbsp olive oil divided 

Let's do it!

1.  Cut tomatoes in half and coarsely grate tomatoes into a bowl and discard the skins. Grating gives a nice texture to the meat of the tomatoes.

Or, you can blanch the tomatoes to remove the skins and do a quick blender chop up. First score the skins only with a sharp knife making 4 cuts making an "X". This makes removing the skins easier. Place tomatoes in boiling water for 10 seconds and then remove placing in an ice water filled bowl- not long. Remove after they have cooled and remove the skins. Blend a little as we don't want total mush.

2. Put chopped onion and chopped bell peppers in a bowl.

3. In a small bowl measure paprika, salt and garlic.

4. Put rice in another bowl.

5. Seafood in a bowl.

6. Chorizo in a bowl.

7. . Heat the grill to medium hot (350- 450 degrees). Make sure your grill is level- if not make it so.

8. Toast saffron in a large sauce pan on the stove at medium heat. Stirring about 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the 6 cups chicken broth and the white wine, cover and bring to a boil over high heat.

(Bring the remaining 3 cups of chicken broth to a boil in a small covered pan.)

9. At the grill: a slotted wooden spoon, long handled wooden spoon, your paella pan, oven mitts and all the bowls of ingredients. Keep the grill closed on your gas barbecue.

10. Heat the paella pan on the grill. Add 3 tbsp of olive oil, then the chorizo. Brown the chorizo, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Using the slotted spoon remove the sausage an place it back in it's bowl.

11. Saute the onion and bell peppers in the pan until the onion softens. About 5 -6 minutes.

12. Stir in the tomatoes and cook. Stir often until the liquid evaporates and the tomato paste turns a darker shade. About 12-15 minutes.

13. Stir in remaining 3 tbsp olive oil, and the garlic, paprika and salt mixture. Stir and cook 30 seconds.

14. Add rice and stir until evenly coated. Smooth out level.

15. Being careful, pour hot saffron liquid over rice and arrange chorizo on top. Cook at a steady simmer for 12 minutes.

16. Pour remainder of saffron liquid over paella so rice is just covered.

(for EXTRA piggy size- Pour enough hot plain chicken broth over paella so rice is just covered in liquid. You may not use it all.)

17. Place muscles around near the edge of the pan pushing them into the fluid. Scatter the remaining muscles, clams and shrimp over the paella.

18. Close the lid on the grill and cook until the clams and muscle open (throw away any that don't open) and the rice is al dente. About 6 - 10 minutes.


19. Remove from grill carefully and place on a trivet. Cover with paper towels for about 5 minutes. This is important to let it stand.

20. Dig in!

I love making this paella when we have company over. It is especially wonderful when we have out-of-towners come in that don't have the same access to fresh seafood that we have access to. We even made the large recipe and gave the small pan to neighbours when they had a baby- every new parent welcomes food they don't have to prepare or think about!

Ingredients for 12 people 

(17-18 inch paella pan or two 12 inch cast-iron frying pans)

• 2 pounds ripe tomatoes
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 bell peppers (red, yellow or orange; seeded and chopped)
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 5 Tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 2 Tsp salt (Maldon)
• 4 cups Arborio rice (or Spanish Valenciano rice)
• 24 muscles (scrubbed and beards pulled off
• 24 clams
• 24 medium shrimp or prawns (deveined and tails removed, 3-4 with shell on for extra flavour)
• 3 full chorizo (about 1 1/4 pound) cut diagonally thinly
• 1 Tsp saffron
• 9 cups chicken broth, divided
• 2 cups dry white wine
• 7 Tbsp olive oil divided 

Fennel and Orange Salad

Often people (especially men) believe that you "don't win friends with salad." This salad is friendly to all. If you haven't tried fennel it is a like bit liquorice flavoured. Then when you grill it you get that slight caramelization that brings in a bit of sweetness too.

I'm drawn to things that are the exception. Like grilling something that seems unlikely to grill. Like oranges!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (fresh) Orange juice
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp (150 ml) Olive oil
Splash of hot sauce (about 1 Tsp) such as Tabasco
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
3 Fennel bulbs, sliced thinly about 1/4" with core intact
3 Oranges
1 bunch of watercress, remove the tough stems
1/2 cup honey roasted macadamia nuts
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Prepare honey roasted macadamia nuts first if you can't buy them. This can be done earlier in the day or days before. See below for directions.

1. Mix Orange juice, olive oil, garlic, hot sauce, parsley and salt and pepper in glass bowl or ziplock bag.

2. Remove 1/3 of the dressing for later

3. Cut the green stalks off the white bulb of the fennel.  Slice fennel bulbs in an up and down direction keeping the bottom of the bulb intact so the slices hold together.

4. Gently place the fennel slices into the ziplock bag or dish with 2/3 of the dressing. Make sure all pieces are covered and refrigerate for at least 5 hours. You can even prepare this the day before and let it soak over night.

5. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat

6. Cut the skin off the oranges with a knife. Cut the orange into thin 1/3" slices and place them in a bag or bowl in the fridge until you grill them.

7. Season the grill with oil and place the fennel on the grill. Cook with the lid up for 5-7 minutes a side depending on the power of your grill. You will want grill marks and the fennel with soften but still have a firmness to them.

8. Add the orange slices to the grill for the last 1-2 minutes. You want a grill mark on them if you can achieve it without them drying out. You need to keep a sharp eye on things at this point.

9. Remove the fennel and orange slices and arrange them on a serving plate or large bowl with the watercress and roasted macadamia nuts. Dribble the salad with the reserved dressing and serve warm. Although it is still tasty cold a day later.

Honey roasted macadamia nuts

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Butter
1-3 Tbsp Honey
1 Tsp Salt (for every pound of unsalted nuts)
1/2 - 1 Cup Macadamia nuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F (I use my toaster oven)

2. In a small sauce pan over medium-low heat place butter and honey. Stir occasionally until butter is melted and mixed with the honey. This will take just a few minutes.

3. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet (for easier clean up) and arrange the macadamia nuts in a single layer. Drizzle with the butter/honey mixture. Place in oven.

4. Stir the nuts every 5-10 minutes until golden brown in colour. It usually takes about 20-30 minutes.

5. Remove when golden and sprinkle with salt. Let cool.

6. Try not to eat them all before you make the salad!

I saw this salad made on "licence to grill" and it is a winner! You can serve it to a large group or use it as a large part of your meal and combine it with tequila lime chicken skewers. It is a fresh fun meal to serve in the summer.