Duck Miramonte

Directions

Preheat your oven to 450 F.

Bone the duck, reserving any unused parts for the stock.

Trim the breasts, salt and pepper well.

Add the trimming to the other bones and such reserved for stock.

In a sauté pan, heat the butter over medium heat.

Place the breasts in the pan, skin side down, to melt the fat between the skin and the meat.

(About one or two minutes.) Increase the heat to high, and brown lightly. Place the pan of breasts in the oven and cook for 8 minutes. Wine Sauce: =========== In a copper pan, melt 4 ounces of butter and add the shallots and peppercorns. Cook briefly ( 1 to 2 minutes). Add cepes and Cabernet Sauvignon. Reduce slightly. Add duck stock or demi-glace and tomatoes, if desired. Cook 20 to 30 minutes over medium heat. Add butter if desired, whip, and reserve. Bone Marrow: ============ Fill a sauce pan with water, add a touch of salt, then bring the salted water to a boil. Add marrow and cook for about 5 minutes. Reserve. Spinach: ======== Blanch the spinach in hot, salted water, then press slightly to dry. In a sauté pan, heat the butter until brown (beurre rosette - hazelnut in color). Add spinach, then nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook for about 20 seconds (spinach should have just started to wilt). Drain and reserve. To serve: ========= Spoon the wine sauce into a pool on the serving plate. Add bone marrow to the sauce. Trim any bone from the duck breasts and place the breasts skin side down on a cutting surface and slice very thin. Fan the duck slices out on the serving plate in the sauce, and garnish with watercress and spinach in a side dish.