Pan Roasted Duck With A Quebec Inspired Cassoulet

Take a quack at this recipe, if you don’t like it you can put it on my bill.

Ingredients

• 2 duck breasts, scored on the fatty side in a grid pattern

• 1 long celery stalk, diced fine

• 1 large carrot, diced fine

• 1 leek, light green bottom only, diced fine

• 1 onion, diced fine

• 6 cherry tomatoes, quartered

• Zest of ½ an orange

• 1 ½ cups canned cannellini beans, drained

• Canola oil, olive oil & salt

• Fresh thyme

• 4 thick slices of baguette

Instructions

Heat a frying pan on medium heat. Once hot, add a splash of olive oil along with your diced onions, carrots, leeks, tomatoes, celery and orange zest. Season with a pinch of salt, and cook for 4-5 minutes, until softened and fragrant.
Add drained beans, and cook another several minutes until the beans are warmed and the flavours have combined. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
Place the duck breasts in a clean frying pan, fat side down. Place the cold pan on a high heat, allowing the duck fat to render as it heats up. Season the exposed side liberally with salt.
After 5 minutes, when the fat has browned all over, add a bunch of fresh thyme into the pan, and flip the duck breasts onto the other side. Cook only another 30 seconds, and then remove them from the pan to rest.
Place your sliced bread next to the duck breasts as they cook, allowing them to soak up the duck fat and crisp up.
Once the duck has rested, slice it into thick slices and serve atop the bean cassoulet and grilled bread.

*If using lean, wild duck, add the duck breasts into a preheated pan coated with canola oil. Fry for 3-4 minutes, or until the first side has browned nicely