Warm Duck and Wild Rice Salad in Lettuce Cups

For two good eaters, with left over rice mix for tomorrow night.

Dressing

• ¼ cup freshly squeezed blood orange juice
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (try something fruity; I like Olio Santo California Extra Virgin Olive Oil - First Cold Press; not only is it very good, but it's local-ish, which makes it more sustainable, and yes I care (a little) about that sort of thing)
• zest of one orange, finely grated
• 1 tablespoon finely diced shallot
• 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
• 1 – ½ teaspoon brown sugar

• salt and pepper to taste

Combine dressing ingredients in a measuring cup and emulsify with your Cuisinart Hand Blender. Set aside.

Rice Salad Mix

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon pure olive oil (not EVOO)
• ½ cup sweet (Vidalia or Maui) onion, diced fine
• White parts of 4 green onions, sliced thinly
• 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
• 1 4 oz. package Reese Wild Rice
• 1 cup white wine
• 3 cups  organic free range chicken broth
• 2 oz. brown rice
• ½ oz. dried organic Porcini mushrooms, reconstituted in hot water, drained, and diced finely
• 6 oz. snow peas, strings removed, and chopped diagonally into ½- inch pieces
• ¾ cup dried organic, no sulfite apricots diced
• green parts of 4 green onions, sliced thinly
• 1 2 oz. package chopped pecans
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat a Le Creuset 3-½ Quart Round French Oven over medium heat. Add butter and olive oil. When butter stops foaming, add onion. Add a pinch of salt. Cook 3-4 minutes or until beginning to soften and add white part of green onion. Cook 2 minutes. Add garlic. Cook 30 seconds. Add wild rice and stir thoroughly to coat rice with fat. Cook 1 minute. Add wine, turn heat up to max and bring to boil. Boil 1 minute. Add broth. Return to boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 45-55 minutes (until tender and some grains begin to split open). After 20 minutes, add brown rice. If necessary, add more broth (you don't want all the liquid to ever evaporate). After 40 minutes, add Porcini mushrooms. 

Meanwhile, put pecans in a small baking dish, and roast at 350° for about 10 minutes. Do NOT let them burn! Transfer to a dish and let cool.

Bring 2 quarts salted water to a boil in a sauce pan. Add snow peas. Cook 2 minutes. Drain through a fine mesh strainer and rinse with cold water.

When rice is done, drain through a fine mesh strainer. Shake strainer repeatedly to ensure thorough drainage.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Add dressing to taste. (I like it damp but not sloppy). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pan Seared Duck Breast

• 1 Muscovy Duck Breast - Boneless
• 1 teaspoon Paul Prudhomme's Poultry Magic Seasoning

Preheat oven to 350°.

Pat duck breast dry with paper towels. Place the duck skin side up. Using a sharp knife, score 6 (¼-inch-deep) cuts across the skin at a 45 degree angle. Season both sides. 

Heat an oven proof skillet over high heat. (I don't like cast iron for this purpose. I prefer my trusty Calphalon anodized 9-inch skillet.) When pan is hot, add duck breast, skin side down, and cook for 5 minutes. Flip and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove pan from cooktop, mop up fat with paper towels, and transfer to oven for 6 minutes.

Transfer breast to a cutting board, loosely tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 10 minutes. Here at PB.com, we like to leave the skin on, but YMMV. In any case, slice duck thinly.

Service

I like to use a soft lettuce, such as butter lettuce. Spoon some of the rice mix into the center of a lettuce leaf, top with a slice or two of duck, and roll into a burrito shape. Bite. Sip wine. Second bite. Yum.