Grilled Duck with Wild Rice Cakes and Sesame Tomato Chutnety

This month's Royal Foodie Joust is centered around the ingredients rice, tomato & bacon as picked by last month's winner Nuria. I had a hard time coming up with something for this Joust. It seemed like everything I thought of worked for two of the ingredients but not the third. Then, when I decided to focus on wild rice (like a good Minnesotan should), it suddenly all came together.

You might say this dish is a fusion of North & East. The duck is from Canada, the wild rice from Minnesota, the Egyptian walking onion from Wisconsin, even the bacon is local but the flavors of sesame oil, ginger, anise, coriander and soy sauce all harken to the East.

I really had no idea how this was going to turn out but we were really happy with the finished product. The marinade is really perfect with duck, I especially liked the anise flavor. The duck meat was very tender & juicy. The wild rice cakes get crispy adding good texture to the meal as well as a nutty flavor. The chutney really brings a bright, freshness to the whole meal, since it isn't cooked at all, and it was good on both the duck & the wild rice cakes.

Grilled Duck with Wild Rice Cakes & Sesame Tomato Chutney

1 boneless duck breast
olive oil

Marinade

1 T brown sugar
3 T water
1/4 t anise seeds, crushed a bit
1/2 t ground ginger
1/4 t ground coriander
6 T soy sauce
1/2 t sesame oil
pinch red chili flakes

Mix everything together in a resealable bag until the sugar dissolves. Add the duck breast & close the bag getting as much air out as possible. Let sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours to overnight.

Remove the duck from the marinade & coat both sides with olive oil.

Heat the grill to 400 - 450 F. Oil the grates. Cook the duck for 3 - 5 minutes per side until a thermometer reads 140 F. Remove from grill, tent with foil & let rest for 5 minutes.

Slice thin.

Serves 2

Wild Rice Cakes

2 c water

1/4 c wild rice

2 strips bacon, chopped

1 Egyptian walking onion (or scallion), white & green parts chopped

1/2 t ground ginger

salt & pepper

1 T all-purpose flour

1 egg

1 1/2 - 2 T vegetable oil

Put the water & wild rice in a sauce pan & bring to a strong boil. Turn down the heat & simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat & let sit for another 30 minutes or until the rice is tender. Drain any excess water. 

Cook the bacon until crisp & drain on a paper towel.

Mix the bacon, onion, ginger and flour into the wild rice. Season with salt & pepper. Add the egg & mix well. 

Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Scoop the wild rice mixture into the pan 2 tablespoons at a time, pressing down to form a patty. (You may need to cook in too batches so as not to crowd the pan.) Cook until the bottom is brown, about 3 minutes. Flip & cook the other side 3 minutes. Drain on a paper towel. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 cakes

Sesame Tomato Chutney
(adapted from Bon Appetit June '08)

3 oz cherry tomatoes
1 t brown sugar
1 small clove garlic
1/4 t sesame oil
1/4 t ground ginger
pinch ground coriander
salt & pepper

Put everything except salt & pepper in a small food processor and process until chunky. Taste & add salt & pepper as needed.

Makes about 1/3 cup

Thanks to Jenn the Leftover Queen for putting these Jousts together every month!