Chef Josh DeChellis of Sumile-
New York, NY
Adapted by StarChefs.com
Yield: 4 Servings
Ingredients:
Glaze:
- 1/2 cup simple syrup
- 1/2 cup imported, salt-packed cherry blossoms,
rinsed of salt taste
- 2 cherry leaves, rinsed
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- ½ Tablespoon yuzu juice (Japanese
sour citrus juice)
Eggplant puree:
- 2 large Japanese eggplant, cut in half
- Tamari shoyu, to taste
- Mirin, to taste
Duck:
- 4 breasts of Peking duck
- Fresh wasabi
Method:
For glaze:
Boil simple syrup, ¼ cup of cherry blossoms and leaves
in pot for 5 minutes. Cool.
Boil vinegar and remaining cherry blossoms in separate pot for
2 minutes. Cool.
Remove cherry leaves from syrup and discard. Place the syrup and
vinegar in a blender and pulse to lightly break up blossoms. Return
to pot and reduce to glaze consistency. Cool and add 1/2 Tablespoon
yuzu juice.
For eggplant puree:
Heat oven to 350°F.Grill or saute cut sides of eggplant over
high heat until blackened. Wrap in foil and roast until tender.
Remove skins and puree in blender with tamari shoyu and mirin
to taste. Pass through chinoise and reserve.
For duck:
Saute the duck breasts skin side down in sauté pan over
medium-high heat until skin is browned and crisp. Flip and lightly
brown flesh side. Reserve rendered duck fat in a shallow pot.
Place duck in pot with rendered fat and let rest somewhere warm
to finish cooking gently.
Once cooked and rested, re-crisp the skin side
of duck in a hot cast iron pan. Coat skin sides with the cherry
blossom glaze and slice into ½ inch thick slices reserving
juices from cutting board. Heat the burnt eggplant puree and place
on each of four plates. Arrange duck on top of the puree and place
a dot of wasabi on each slice. Place duck juices from cutting
board and squeezed from end scraps of meat in a small pot or cup.
Add a bit of cherry glaze and duck fat and lightly drizzle over
duck. Serve with a small mound of fresh wasabi.
Wine Pairing:
St. Innocent “Seven Springs” Willamette Valley, 2001
