We buy all of our ducks from Cowichan Bay Farm on Vancouver Island. Lyle and Fiona Young raise pasturefed ducks, chickens, cattle and lamb on a heritage farm that has been in the family for more than eighty years. Preparing duck with a nod to Asian flavours is a natural, so we like to roast it seasoned in five-spice powder — a combination of cinnamon, star anise, Szechuan peppercorns, coriander and cloves. If you don't have all the spices to make the five-spice powder yourself, it is readily available at Asian markets.
Instructions
Recipe by John Bishop
Five-spice powder
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns
1 tablespoon star anise pods
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
Risotto
4 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup onions, in ¼-inch dice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, whole (or halved if large)
2 cups arborio rice
½ cup dry sherry
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Duck
4 boneless duck breasts
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon five-spice powder
Five-spice powder
Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Using a mortar and pestle or an electric spice mill, grind this mixture finely. Five-spice powder can be stored indefinitely in an airtight jar at room temperature.
Risotto
Place chicken stock in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until onions are almost translucent, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté until lightly coloured, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in rice and sauté until grains are covered with butter and are slightly translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Deglaze pan with sherry, stirring to loosen the browned bits on the bottom. Add enough of the hot chicken stock to cover rice by 1/2 inch. Simmer, uncovered, on medium heat, stirring constantly and adding chicken stock 1/2 cup at a time as necessary to keep rice covered. After 20 minutes, check rice for doneness: it should be tender, but not mushy. If rice is still crunchy, add more stock and cook up to 10 minutes more.
When rice is done, stir in Parmesan cheese. Cook until the risotto is still creamy, but thick enough to mound slightly on a plate, 2 to 3 minutes Serve hot.
Duck
Preheat the oven to 450 F. Season duck breasts with salt and five-spice powder and score skin every 1/4 inch for best results.
Heat a medium ovenproof frying pan on medium heat. Add duck breasts, skin side down and cook for 5 minutes, until lightly coloured and skin begins to render. turn duck over and cook in the oven for 5 minutes. Turn duck over again (it should be skin side down) and cook 5 minutes more. Check for doneness with a meat thermometer: the internal temperature should be 140 F. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Cut duck into slices 1/8 inch thick.
To serve, place 1 cup of risotto on each plate and top with 6 to 8 slices of duck breast.
