Having tried orzo for the first time recently, I decided to try something special with it. I’ve always found that duck makes any dish feel special so I’ve paired the two up to give this amazingly tasty little dish.

I’ve made this a few times and my advice is to use a good home made chicken stock, as the shop bought ones do have the potential to give a little bit of a roast dinner flavour to the orzo which doesn’t quite sit right with the overall dish. Water works very well, you just miss a small amount of richness in the finished dish. 

Serves 2 

Seared Duck

2 skin-on duck breasts, scored deeply on both diagonals

Mushroom-Parmesan Orzo

1 teaspoon sunflower oil

3 tablespoons butter

4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

100g mixed/wild mushrooms, quartered

125g dry orzo

500ml chicken stock/water 

8-10 chives, finely chopped 

100g freshly grated parmesan cheese

Method:

Start cooking the Orzo: 

In a wide pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir. As the garlic starts to brown add the butter. Once the butter has started to bubble, add the mushrooms and stir, ensuring the mushrooms are completely coated in the butter and garlic. 

Stir occasionally for about 8-10 minutes until the mushrooms are golden. 

Add the orzo and stir well to coat with any of the butter in the pot.

Add the water or stock and bring to a boil before reducing the heat to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally to ensure that orzo doesn’t stick to the pan.

Simmer like this for approximately 10-12 minutes over a low heat. 

Sear the duck:

Having scored the duck skin, place skin down in a medium hot pan. Press down hard for a good few seconds to ensure that all of the skin maintains contact with the pan. Leave the duck alone for about 7-8 minutes before checking the skin to see if it has become crisp. 

Check that the fat has rendered down across the whole breast too. Undercooked duck fat is decidedly unpleasant and will ruin the finished dish. 

Once the skin is crisp, turn the duck and turn the heat up slightly. It should only take another 5-6 minutes to cook the duck so it remains beautifully pink inside. Allow to rest for a few minutes. 

Once the orzo is al dente stir in the cheese and the chives. Have a quick taste and add seasoning. Turn off the heat.

Place the orzo on a plate, place the duck breast skin side up, garnish and serve immediately.

As always please send all comments to piratespantry@gmail.com