This is the first recipe of (hopefully) many Hawaiian-inspired dishes using local Maui ingredients.  This roasted duck breast came out perfectly with a fig/blueberry/ginger/guava chutney and sage/rosemary quinoa. Everything will take you less than an hour to put together.  The following is a recipe for 2 people.

Duck Ingredients (cooking time 20-30 minutes):

• 2 duck breasts (we prefer free range, organic)
• liberal sea salt
• liberal fresh ground pepper

Chutney Ingredients (cooking time 45 min):

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/2 Maui onion
• 2 guavas (juice strained)
• 2 figs
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup of blueberries
• 4 table spoons of dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of white wine
• 1 lime

Quinoa Ingredients (cooking time 12 minutes):

• 1 cup of chicken broth
• 1 cup quinoa
• sprig each of rosemary and sage

Start the chutney first.

Begin by sauteing the chopped onions in the coconut oil in a small sauce pan on medium high heat.  Cook until the onions are translucent and soft (5-10 min).

Pull the juice from the guavas and add to the onions with the brown sugar (toss out the seeds).  stir until the sugar has melted down.

Add all the other ingredients, cover, and reduce to a simmer.  Let it simmer for 20-30 minutes.  (Time to start the duck prep!)  Then uncover and let it reduce on low-medium heat for 5-15 minutes.  Continue stirring and don’t let it burn.

It’s true, you don’t need as many different ingredients, so if you want to taste 1 thing over the other, limit or cut ingredients.  The dates can take over if you have too much.

Cook the duck!

When the chutney is all mixed and is reducing, begin cooking the duck.  score the fat/skin being careful to not cut into the meat.  Use fresh ground pepper and coarse sea salt to liberally cover the duck.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.  Use an oven proof saute pan and bring to a medium, medium-high temp.  Cook the open duck breats fat down for 10-15 minutes.  Flip over and cook the other side for 2-3 minutes.

pour the fat out and save it for later in a glass container. (duck fat is God’s gift to food.  Use it in eggs, or anything you want to add savory umami flavors.

Flip the breasts back over on the fat side, and place the pan in the oven for 15-20 minutes. (Begin the quinoa.)

Pull the duck out and place on a cutting board.  Let sit for no less than 10 minutes before slicing.

Quinoa time!

Bring the chicken broth (or duck stock if you have it) to a boil, then lower temp to continue simmering.  Add the quinoa, chopped rosemary and chopped sage.  stir then cover and let simmer for 12 minutes.

Duck is one of the most flavorful pieces of meet and lends well to sweet sauces.  The quinoa is an excellent, light side.  We added the sage and rosemary to the quinoa instead of the chutney because we felt it would be lost.  This way, you get all the flavors.  Hope you like this Roasted Duck Breast Recipe!