Anyway, Karen got the beer created by Richard Blais, which was a stout with chocolate and ras el hanout. Yes, you read that correctly! WTF was my reaction too! Chef Karen came up with this pan seared duck breast on a beet puree with roasted carrots. Sounds simple right? Ha! That would be your first misconception. She blends ras el hanout, cacao nibs, harissa and orange blossom water into the beets for a flavor that, well, is pretty indescribable.
I made this dish with some significant hints from Chef Karen via email but it is NOT her recipe (hers is probably much better. Big shoutout to Karen for her help and kind responses - it's so great to see professionals encouraging others and acting as mentors.. Anyway, here we go:
Beet Puree
Ingredients:
1 medium red beet roasted, peeled and cut
2 small golden beets, peeled quartered
1 medium/large carrot, peeled chopped into large pieces
2 cups chicken stock
handful of cocoa nibs (maybe 2/3 cup?)
1/2 tsp harissa
3 tsp ras el hanout (divided)
orange blossom water or 1 drop food grade orange oil in 1 cup chicken stock
Method:
I found out I wasn't supposed to roast the beets after I'd already roasted the red ones so I put the carrots and golden beets into a pot with the 2 cups of chicken stock, ras el hanout and the handful of cacoa nibs and simmered until the vegetables were fork tender. Then into the blender with all the beets, carrots and remaining stock. I added 1/2 tsp harissa, the remaining ras el hanout and enough of the orange water (orange stock in my case) to make a smooth puree. Then, since I had added the cacao nibs into the blender (mistake?) I had to put it through a fine sieve twice and then through cheesecloth to get out much of the fine grains of the nibs. I put it back into a pot on the stove to keep warm and adjust the seasonings. Incidentally, this made a LOT of beet puree!
Next I roasted carrots tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and some more ras el hanout on convection roast at 325 until browned at the edges and tender.
Score the duck breasts and rub in some ras el hanout along with salt and pepper. I used a smoked salt for this step. Place skin side down over low heat to allow the layer of fat under the skin to render, pouring off the fat from the pan as necessary.
Turn up the heat to get a crisp skin (about 4 minutes) and flip them to cook the other side. I like my duck medium rare so this only took about 3 minutes once I turned them in the pan. Allow to rest well in a rimmed pan.
To plate, I swooshed the puree on the bottom of the plate. Damn, I actually did a really great swoosh this time but you couldn't tell once I'd plated the other elements. Lay roasted carrots atop the puree and then arrange sliced duck breast atop.
Add micro-greens - I added pea shoots, since it is what I had on hand, and serve immediately.
I hate beets, always have. I've had them prepared in many ways and by cooks/chefs with far more skills than I possess and have always loathed them. This dish however, had me rethinking that. The puree on it's own was very different - you could taste all the ingredients - the cacao nibs gave it depth while the harissa balanced out the natural sweetness of the vegetables and the slightly floral finish of the orange was a delightful surprise. When eaten with the duck, however, it was truly inspired and I actually wiped my plate clean with the duck to get every drop.
Things may appear simple when you watch them prepared on Top Chef but tasting them for yourself definitely gives you much more insight into the comments made by the judges.
Keep an eye on Chef Karen, this chef has mad skills!
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