Last Friday I had two dear friends over for dinner. As Emily, Laura and I love Spanish, travel and good food, I thought it fitting to prepare empanadas for dinner. I'd recently purchased aji amarillo paste and was excited to try it out. Aji de gallina and papas a la huancaina are among my favorite Peruvian dishes, so I thought it would be a fun twist to try substituting duck for the traditional chicken. (For the purists out there, this is my version of the sauce).
For the Duck:
4 duck legs, thawed (or fresh!), rinsed well with water and patted dry with a paper towel.
S & P
Heat oven to 300.
Salt and pepper duck legs.
Place duck legs fat side down inside cooking dish.
Cook for 2 1/2-3 hours or until fat has melted into cooking dish.
Remove duck legs from cooking dish, place atop paper towels to drain some of the fat and let cool.
Remove duck meat and set aside.
For Aji/Huancaina Sauce:
1 diced onion
3 minced garlic cloves
4 tablespoons aji amarillo paste
2 cups chicken stock
3 slices stale white bread
1 cup whole milk
4 oz crumbled queso fresco
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
1/4 teaspoon Cumin
S&P to taste
Soak bread in milk. Mash up with a fork.
In large saute pan, heat up olive oil or butter over medium to medium-low heat.
Add onions and garlic and saute for 5 minutes, keeping an eye on it to make sure that the garlic
does not brown.
Add cumin, turmeric and paprika to mixture.
Add mashed bread/milk and aji amarillo to pan. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add chicken stock and queso fresco to pan. Simmer 20 minutes.
Blend mixture until smooth. Return to heat and simmer additional 15-20 minutes.
Store sauce in refrigerator until serving.
For Empanadas:
10 empanada shells
4 oz chopped spinach
4 oz crumbled queso fresco
1 caramelized onion
Duck meat
To Make Empanadas:
Preheat oven to 400.
Roll out defrosted empanada shells and fill with duck meat, spinach, crumbled queso freso and caramelized onion mixture.
Fold over shells to make a half moon. Pinch shut with fingers and then press along seam with a fork to create indentations.
Cook about 20 minutes in oven until empanadas are golden.
Serve with heated huancaina sauce and a delicious Pisco Sour!
Cinco de Mayo coincided with my 2nd fanniversario (a combination of anniversary in Spanish with "fan"=2 years of my boyfriend and I enjoying dating each other). Surprisingly, we did not hit up the Mexican circuit in Boston, but rather he brought me to a Chinese restaurant, Chef Chang's House, which is located at the St. Mary's stop on the C line in Brookline.
Carlos has been talking up Chef Chang's Peking Duck for quite some time (2 months...possibly more...but 2 months of thinking about a dish can create high expectations only to crash back to reality upon consuming it). We meant to go their for Easter (it is sort of a tradition to eat on an American holiday, but completely avoid traditional meals and eat the unexpected...unintentional but fun) but that didn't happen, so 5 de Mayo was my first time at Chef Chang's.
I could describe the restaurant...but it would provide nothing unique to this post...so on to the duck!
(I asked Carlos was his favorite kind of duck was. He replied, a dead one...the answer I had been thinking...great minds think alike!)
The duck came de-boned, sliced horizontally into round sections and served upon incredibly crispy skin. I normally avoid eating the skin on meat, but this was so crisp, sweet and deliciously fatty that I dug right in.
The duck was served with homemade "crepes," more like tortillas in reality, green onions and plum sauce. I did not waste too much time eating the crepes, focusing on the duck and its trappings.
The meat was delicious-moist, and with the perfect amount of salt.
I am not ashamed to say that I ate half a duck that night, in fact, I'm rather proud of having done so.
The duck may take an hour to prepare, so call ahead before devouring your own Peking duck at Chef Chang's House...even if you cannot call, it is definitely worth the wait!
I adore duck. The richness and fat of the duck compliment the acidity of the berries and vinegar perfectly. The rosemary is very subtle but adds complexity to this dish. This dish is my idea of heaven.
Ingredients:
4 boneless duck breast fillets, skin on
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup red wine
1 cup chicken stock (or if you happen to have duck stock, use it)
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 cups mixed berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries-use all three or what you can find in your freezer or local mart)
2 tablespoons butter
1 sprig rosemary
Salt and Pepper
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium sauce pot. Add sugar and mix until melted. Add red wine and vinegar and bring to a boil. Once the caramel (melted sugar and butter) has dissolved into the liquid, add chicken stock, rosemary and 1 1/2 cup berries. Simmer 35-40 minutes until the sauce is reduced. Strain into small sauce pot, pushing on the berries to release their juices. Discard remaining berry solids. Set sauce aside. The sauce can be prepared the day before and refrigerated until the duck breasts are being cooked.
Preheat the oven to 400.
Rinse duck breasts and pat dry with paper towel. Cut excess fat from breasts-do not remove the skin. Cut shallow slits in skin of duck & season duck lightly with salt and pepper.
Heat olive oil in large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add duck breasts, skin side down, and cook about 4 minutes or until the skin has turned brown. Carefully turn over breasts (try not to separate the skin from the breast) and cook for 3 more minutes. Place skillet on middle rack in preheated oven. Cook for 4 minutes for medium duck breasts.
While duck is in oven, heat up sauce in small sauce pot until simmering.
Spoon 1/2 sauce over 4 plates. Place duck breast, skin side up over sauce. Drizzle remaining sauce over breasts and garnish with reserved berries.
