Craving something fancy but not into splurging at a restaurant? Look no further.
This salad is one of my favorite recipes. There is a nice balance between the bitterness of the endive, the savory duck breast and the sweet pear sauce. Yes, it sounds very complicated and fancy, but it’s actually pretty easy to make and has had a lot of success with my friends.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 1
Photo by Chris Roman
Ingredients:
3/4 cup arugula
3/4 cup endive
1 duck breast
1 garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons butter
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 1/3 Anjou pears
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup sweet white wine (I used riesling)
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
2. Start with the sauce. Dice 1 of the pears and puree in a blender along with 2 tablespoons of water.
3. Pour the pear puree into a sauce pan and add the the lemon juice, honey and white wine.
4. Cook on low heat until it reaches an apple sauce consistency. This should take about 25 minutes.
Photo by Chris Roman
5. Heat up another pan to medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of the butter.
6. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of the salt on each side of the duck breast.
7. Once the butter starts to bubble, place the duck breast, fat side down, in the pan. Cook the fat side for 5 minutes then flip the breast over and cook for 1 minute on the other side.
Photo by Chris Roman
8. Add the remaining butter, the garlic clove, the rosemary, and the thyme and place pan in the oven for 5-6 minutes. Since duck is a red meat, it’s okay for it to be a little rare.
Photo by Chris Roman
Photo by Chris Roman
9. Now it’s time to put everything together. Chop up the remaining 1/3 pear into bite size pieces and place them on your plate with the arugula and endive. Place the duck breast on the salad and top with the pear wine sauce.
Photo by Chris Roman
10. Instagram the moment so everyone can see how awesome you are. (Make sure to tag #spoonfeed.)
11. Enjoy!