Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

Salad:
• ½ cup early gold apple
• ¼ cup scallions
• ¼ cup dried figs
• ½ cup duck confit
  
  Cider Vinaigrette:
• ½ cup apple juice
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ cup grapeseed oil
  
  Pomegranate Crème Fraîche:
• 1 cup fresh pressed apple juice
• ½ cup crème fraîche
• 2 Tablespoons pomegranate molasses
  
  Duck:
• 4 duck breasts, skin on, trimmed
  
  Endive:
• 2 heads Belgian endive, halved
• 3 cups water
• 4 ounces fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 4 Tablespoons sugar
  
  Rapini:
• 4 cups rapini, blanched and shocked
• 1 Tablespoon shallots
• 1 Tablespoon garlic
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tablespoons chicken stock

Method:
For Salad:
Julienne the apples, scallions, and figs, and pick apart confit. Reserve for assembly and serving.

For Cider Vinaigrette:
Mix together the apple juice, vinegar, and salt and pepper. Slowly incorporate the oil in a stream while whisking rapidly. Reserve.

For Pomegranate Crème Fraîche:
Mix together the apple juice, crème fraiche and pomegranate molasses with a hand blender.

For Duck:
Score the breasts, making sure not to pierce the flesh. Season each breast with salt and pepper. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and lay breasts, skin side down, in pan. Cook for 10 minutes, without turning, until nicely browned.
The breasts will render their own fat as the meat cooks, leaving the skin crisp. Do not allow skin to blacken or burn. Turn and cook for 4 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm.

For Endive:
Preheat oven to 325° F. Cover endive with a combined mixture of water and lemon juice in a half hotel pan covered in foil. Place pan in oven and braise until al dente. Remove endive from liquid and let cool. Melt butter in a sauté pan and add endive. As butter heats up, slowly add the sugar. Cook until the endive is evenly caramelized.

For Rapini:
Blanch the rapini in salted water until al dente and shock in cold water. Chop the shallots and garlic, and sweat in sauté pan in butter. Add rapini and heat through. Finish with salt, pepper and chicken stock. Reserve.

To Assemble and Serve:
Thinly slice the duck breasts. Toss salad with ¼ cup of the apple vinaigrette.
Fan out the endive on the bottom of 4 plates to resemble flower peddles. Place the rapini on top the endive. Fan the sliced duck breast on top of the rapini. Cover with the salad. Buzz the pomegranate crème fraîche with a hand blender and spoon foam and sauce around the peddles of endive. Drizzle a little bit of pomegranate molasses around the outer edge of the plate and serve.