A black bean soup enriched with duck breast and dark molasses, amped with espresso.
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Soak black beans in cold water overnight. Alternatively, pour boiling water over beans and let soak for an hour. Place beans, and enough of the soaking liquid to cover them by at least an inch, in a large pot. Add the bay leaves and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer. Freshly dried, pre-soaked black beans might cook in as little as 20 minutes, so watch carefully! Beans should be just tender, but still hold their shape.
In a dry pan, toast the cumin and coriander seed until fragrant, then grind in a mortar or spice grinder. Glaze a large frying pan with the olive oil and saute the duck breasts for 4 or 5 minutes, skin side down, to pull out some of the fat. Sprinkle the top side with salt and pepper. Flip the breasts when the skin is brown, pull off the skin with tongs or your fingers - it's easier when it's cooked; you can let it cool for a minute if you like - and season that side as well. Once the underside is cooked, flip once more and brown the side that was under the skin.
Pull the skin off the duck breasts, sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper, and saute in olive oil over medium high heat until well browned, about 4 minutes per side. Cut the skin into about a 3/8" dice. When the duck is browned, reserve the breasts and add the diced skin to the pan. Render down over medium heat until all you have is crisp brown bits, about 8 or 10 minutes. Scoop out and drain over a paper towel, and sprinkle with coarse salt.
While the breasts are cooking, cut the skin into about a 3/8" dice. When the breasts are done, set them aside and add the diced skin to the pan. Render down over medium heat until all you have is crisp brown bits, about 8 or 10 minutes. Scoop out and drain over a paper towel, and sprinkle with coarse salt.
Drain off and reserve for another use all but about 1 1/2 T of the duck fat. Add the green pepper and onion. and saute over medium heat until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the diced duck and the ground spices and cook another minute or two, to blend all the flavors. Add some of the espresso or coffee to deglaze the pan. Pour all into a large saucepan or medium heavy casserole. Add the rest of the coffee, the molasses, about a cup of bean broth, and about 1 1/2 cup of the beans. Bring to a simmer and lightly mash until the broth is thickened.
Add an additional 4 1/2 cups of the beans, the teaspoon of salt, and 2 cups of the broth - you will have about a cup of beans left for a salad, or snacking. Bring back to a simmer and let cook for a few more minutes, to blend the flavors. To serve, ladle out the soup and garnish with sour cream, chopped green onions, a few leaves of fresh cilantro and the crisped bits of duck skin - if you haven't already eaten all of them. Have some hot sauce and lime wedges on the side.
The bean broth is what keeps the soup black, so hang on to it. Also, black beans are about the quickest-cooking beans I know, but cook times still vary a lot depending on the relative dryness of the beans. My two cents is, don't pressure cook black beans, and don't salt them until they're done.
The logistics in frying the duck breasts three times is a bit whimsical, but works for me. I want to saute the duck breasts in their own fat, but I don't want chunks of duck skin in the soup. If you want to pull the skin off before cooking and render some or all of it before cooking the breasts, that will work equally well.
If you followed the advice of the related post and bought a whole duck, frozen or unfrozen, remove as much skin as you can, reserve the legs and thighs, and simmer the carcass in cold water to cover with a half dozen each peppercorns and juniper berries, plus 3 or 4 whole allspice, a bay leaf, and a fat coin of peeled ginger. Cook for an hour and a half, then add the legs and thighs and cook for another half hour. Reserve the legs and thighs for this or some other taco recipe, strain the broth through a fine strainer or cheesecloth, and use right away or freeze.
The crisped bits of duck skin, with a bit of salt, are absolutely delicious. In Yiddish this is called gribenes, though technically, maybe, gribenes is chunkier, and mixed with fried onions. This version makes a good sprinkle on a lot of things, including scrambled eggs. Use them! At the very least, freeze the raw skin and render it out when you want a really flavorful fat to fry onions or potatoes.
Ingredients
Directions
Soak black beans in cold water overnight. Alternatively, pour boiling water over beans and let soak for an hour. Place beans, and enough of the soaking liquid to cover them by at least an inch, in a large pot. Add the bay leaves and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer. Freshly dried, pre-soaked black beans might cook in as little as 20 minutes, so watch carefully! Beans should be just tender, but still hold their shape.
In a dry pan, toast the cumin and coriander seed until fragrant, then grind in a mortar or spice grinder. Glaze a large frying pan with the olive oil and saute the duck breasts for 4 or 5 minutes, skin side down, to pull out some of the fat. Sprinkle the top side with salt and pepper. Flip the breasts when the skin is brown, pull off the skin with tongs or your fingers - it's easier when it's cooked; you can let it cool for a minute if you like - and season that side as well. Once the underside is cooked, flip once more and brown the side that was under the skin.
Pull the skin off the duck breasts, sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper, and saute in olive oil over medium high heat until well browned, about 4 minutes per side. Cut the skin into about a 3/8" dice. When the duck is browned, reserve the breasts and add the diced skin to the pan. Render down over medium heat until all you have is crisp brown bits, about 8 or 10 minutes. Scoop out and drain over a paper towel, and sprinkle with coarse salt.
While the breasts are cooking, cut the skin into about a 3/8" dice. When the breasts are done, set them aside and add the diced skin to the pan. Render down over medium heat until all you have is crisp brown bits, about 8 or 10 minutes. Scoop out and drain over a paper towel, and sprinkle with coarse salt.
Drain off and reserve for another use all but about 1 1/2 T of the duck fat. Add the green pepper and onion. and saute over medium heat until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the diced duck and the ground spices and cook another minute or two, to blend all the flavors. Add some of the espresso or coffee to deglaze the pan. Pour all into a large saucepan or medium heavy casserole. Add the rest of the coffee, the molasses, about a cup of bean broth, and about 1 1/2 cup of the beans. Bring to a simmer and lightly mash until the broth is thickened.
Add an additional 4 1/2 cups of the beans, the teaspoon of salt, and 2 cups of the broth - you will have about a cup of beans left for a salad, or snacking. Bring back to a simmer and let cook for a few more minutes, to blend the flavors. To serve, ladle out the soup and garnish with sour cream, chopped green onions, a few leaves of fresh cilantro and the crisped bits of duck skin - if you haven't already eaten all of them. Have some hot sauce and lime wedges on the side.
The bean broth is what keeps the soup black, so hang on to it. Also, black beans are about the quickest-cooking beans I know, but cook times still vary a lot depending on the relative dryness of the beans. My two cents is, don't pressure cook black beans, and don't salt them until they're done.
The logistics in frying the duck breasts three times is a bit whimsical, but works for me. I want to saute the duck breasts in their own fat, but I don't want chunks of duck skin in the soup. If you want to pull the skin off before cooking and render some or all of it before cooking the breasts, that will work equally well.
If you followed the advice of the related post and bought a whole duck, frozen or unfrozen, remove as much skin as you can, reserve the legs and thighs, and simmer the carcass in cold water to cover with a half dozen each peppercorns and juniper berries, plus 3 or 4 whole allspice, a bay leaf, and a fat coin of peeled ginger. Cook for an hour and a half, then add the legs and thighs and cook for another half hour. Reserve the legs and thighs for this or some other taco recipe, strain the broth through a fine strainer or cheesecloth, and use right away or freeze.
The crisped bits of duck skin, with a bit of salt, are absolutely delicious. In Yiddish this is called gribenes, though technically, maybe, gribenes is chunkier, and mixed with fried onions. This version makes a good sprinkle on a lot of things, including scrambled eggs. Use them! At the very least, freeze the raw skin and render it out when you want a really flavorful fat to fry onions or potatoes.
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