It’s been too long since I did a Culinary Adventures post. So to put that right this is what I concocted for Friday evening. As always it’s based on ideas culled from recipes I see, and adapted à la mode d’ici.

Duck Schnitzel with Orzo Pseudo-Risotto

Serves: 2
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 duck breasts
• 100g orzo
• 2 handfuls frozen peas
• 2 large salad onions, or one medium-size onion, chopped
• enough cloves of garlic, chopped or crushed
• a yellow, orange or red pepper, chopped
• zest & juice of a lemon
• plain flour
• an egg, beaten
• about 75g Panko Breadcrumbs (or ordinary breadcrumbs)
• fresh ground black pepper
• leaves from half a packet of fresh tarragon (discard the stems) or other fresh herbs of your choice
• splash white wine or dry sherry (optional)

What to do

1. Lay out 3 small plates. On the first put the flour, and season it with ground black pepper.
   On the second put the beaten egg.
   On the third the breadcrumbs mixed with the lemon zest.
2. Put the orzo and peas on to cook together in plenty of boiling water. When done, drain and keep warm.
3. Sweat the onion, garlic and pepper in some olive oil. As it cooks season with black pepper.
4. (If desired remove the skin from the duck, and give it to your local fox.) Put the duck breasts between layers of clingfilm and beat them with a steak hammer (or rolling pin) to reduce their thickness.
5. Coat each duck breast in the seasoned flour, then the egg, and finally the breadcrumbs. Fry in olive oil in another frying pan. Turn regularly and cook until the juices run clear (or a meat thermometer reaches at least 70°C) – but don’t overcook it so it goes dry.
6. Just before the duck is done, add the tarragon and lemon juice to the onion, followed by the orzo & peas. Mix well and cook until heated through and steaming. If it seems too dry add a splash of white wine or dry sherry. Season with more black pepper.
7. Serve the duck and “risotto” and enjoy with a glass or two of wine of your choice.

Notes

1. I was surprised how well the lemon and tarragon came through in the “risotto”; it felt like the right combination. But thyme, sage, or coriander should work well too.
2. I used Panko breadcrumbs. I’ve never used them before and I wanted to experiment. I think they gave a superior result to making your own breadcrumbs from stale bread – probably because they’re dried.
3. This could be adapted (as I have) to use any pasta; broken up spaghetti works well.
4. I’ve also done something similar with other meats, or for a veggie option I guess you could use slices of aubergine.
5. Also optionally add a tablespoon of tomato paste to the onion mix at the same time as the tarragon and lemon.