There are a few restaurant favorites that some home cooks repeatedly tell me seem too daunting and unapproachable to conquer in their own kitchens: seared scallops, lamb chops and duck breasts. Don’t succumb to the fear! They are all three actually very friendly dishes that you can easily master, trust me.
Basically, they all simply involve pan-searing. Heating a tiny bit of oil or butter in a pan, seasoning the protein as you wish, and cooking in the hot pan until cooked through to the appropriate temperature. All three when done properly achieve a lovely brown crust from the high heat and the hot pan, which just adds to their lovely appearance and flavor.
Let’s take duck breasts for instance. Seared skin-side down first so that the fat accumulates and the skin browns beautifully, you then flip the duck and continue to cook the breasts until they reach the perfect degree of doneness. The pan then leaves you with duck fat, which freezes well, and can be used on your next round of roasted veggies or potatoes. You can then make a simple sauce in the same pan to accompany the duck breasts: a classic orange sauce, a red wine sauce, a berry sauce at the peak of summer, a balsamic reduction…and the list goes on and on.
For this simple pan-seared duck with a pan sauce I sautéed some shallots along with sliced garlic and fresh rosemary, then deglazed the pan with a touch of brandy and white wine; I the added halved ripe figs, seasoned with salt and pepper and enriched the sauce with a Tablespoon of unsalted butter. The figs pair beautifully with the warm taste of the brandy and the intense flavor of the chopped rosemary. Quality ingredients and kitchen staples combined make for impressive dish like this one, that will make your dinner guests think they have stepped into their favorite restaurant. No joke, serving this dish will automatically elevate your cooking repertoire to the highest level possible!
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
