Duck Breast with Poached Pears and Blueberry Sauce
The Season of Pears
Here I am making duck breast again. And it is all because of pears. I have already shared some duck breast’s recipes with you with different side dishes. Duck and fruits make such a great match I just can’t help myself. Last time I made it with black cherry sauce, and I promised I would come back with this poached-in-red wine pears. So, here I am!
I bought Doyenne du Comice. It’s one of my favorite varieties of dessert pears. And it’s perfect to simmer. It’s harvested from July to the end of September. Of course, we can buy it throughout the whole year. But here, in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s seasonal now.
Be careful to not overcook them, otherwise they will fall apart when you try to cut them into a fan shape. It’s better to use potato peeler than knife to peel the pears, because their surface has to be smooth and even. It’s a very simple trick but very useful. I like to poach pears in red wine, it gives a good flavor. And this light-yellow flesh fruit, with red cover, will be very decorative on the plate.
Pears are not only delicious but also offer many health benefits backed by science. They are especially rich in folate, vitamin C, copper, potassium and flavonoids. Flavonoids are an antioxidant that may help to reduce inflammation and protect against certain diseases.
Blueberry Anytime
I could eat blueberry every day. I love raw, jam, in sauce and smoothies, in pies and muffins, in any variations. It’s a very popular fruit as there are quite a few songs about it.
These little blue berries are not just delicious, they are also very healthy, low in calories but high in fiber, vitamin C and vitamin K. Blueberry anthocyanins are antioxidants, natural compounds that help rid your body of unstable and potentially damaging chemicals called free radicals. You can get these nutrients and antioxidants by eating fresh blueberries but taking blueberry supplements in the form of capsules can also be beneficial.
If you have some leftover try Kyara’s Lemon Blueberry Bar too. Healthy and yummy!
Duck Breast with Poached Pears and Blueberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 duck breasts
- 4 pears Doyenne du Comice or Conference
- 700 ml red wine Merlot
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 cloves
- 1 pinch salt
- 300 gram blueberry
- 2 tbsp honey
- ½ tsp orange zest
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Make the poached pears first. Peel the pears with a potato peeler, but leaving the stalk on
- Place the pears into a narrow but tall stainless pan. (I used asparagus steamer pan without its basket, because the pears can stand in it and the wine will cover them perfectly.
- Pour red wine over the pears, it has to cover them, add honey, cinnamon sticks, cloves and a pinch salt. Cover the pan.
- Bring the wine to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the pears gently for 10 minutes. Because my pears were not ripe, I had to cook them for 14 minutes. Test it regularly to overcook. The time of cooking depends on the variety and ripeness of the pears.
- Leave the pears in the wine for an hour to cool down. Pears will have nice red color outside.
- Take the pears out from the wine and cover them. Keep the wine for making the sauce.
- Make the blueberry sauce. Pour 200 ml of the kept red wine to saucepan.
- Add blueberry, orange zest and bring it to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer it for 10 minutes, stir constantly.
- Press it through a sieve or very fine colander into a bowl, pressing as much as you can. You will get a velvety sauce. Pour it back to the saucepan. (Add a bit more wine if sauce is too thick. If it’s too runny, mix 1 tbsp water with ¼ tsp tapioca flour and add the mixture to the sauce, heat it up and stir constantly until thick enough.)
- Taste it then add more honey if necessary.
- Cook the duck breast finally. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
- Score the skin of the duck breasts (but not the meat) in a cross-hatch pattern. Season them with a bit of salt and pepper.
- Heat up a frying pan on medium high heat. When it is hot, lay the breasts skin side down and reduce the heat to medium. I do not use extra fat, the skin is fatty enough. Where the skin does not contact with the pan, I push it down with a tongue. I cook it for 4 minutes, until the skin is golden brown.
- Turn the breasts and cook the other side for 3 minutes.
- Place the breasts into ovenproof dish skin side down and put them into the preheated oven for 4 minutes.
- Leave them to rest for 3-4 minutes.
- Warm up the blueberry sauce and the whole pears.
- Slice the duck breast and place to serving plate. Slice pear into fan shape or leave them whole. Spoon blueberry sauce to the plate and serve the dish. Enjoy!