The Ultimate Christmas Dinner – Duck Breast With Spinach Risotto

Are you a bit intimidated by the prospect of cooking a festive menu this Christmas? Are you intimidated by Christmas altogether? Fear not – as the whole holiday should be about slowing down, spending time with family and friends, this year’s Christmas recipe is all about simplicity but great taste.

Duck breast is perfect for Christmas day, but you can also cook it for friends or post-Christmas gettogether. It is simple but classy, just like the risotto. The recipe here is a basic one, you can play around with what you add to the rice. Instead of spinach, you can try saffron or cheeses, the result will be spectacular either way.

Hope you will have a great time ending this amazing year, and a lot of food to share with your loved ones during Christmas.

Print Recipe

Duck breast with spinach risotto

Servings

people

Ingredients

For the duck

• 2 pieces duck breast with skin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the risotto

• 200 grams risotto rice
• 3 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1.5 dl white wine (dry)
• ~1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 200 grams baby spinch
• 1 tablespoon butter

Servings people Ingredients For the duck 2 pieces duck breast with skin 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper For the risotto 200 grams risotto rice 3 tablespoon olive oil 1 small onion 2 cloves garlic 1.5 dl white wine (dry) ~1 litre chicken or vegetable stock 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 200 grams baby spinch 1 tablespoon butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 Celsius.
2. Make little cuts on the breast skin, but be careful not to cut into the meet. Heat a pan over medium. Add the duck breasts with skin side facing down, and saute for about 10 minutes or until the fat melts nicely and the skin becomes golden brown. Then turn and saute the non-skin side for another 4-5 minutes.
3. Then put the duck breasts into a small bakind dish and bake it for 10 munites. When ready, cover let it rest out of the oven for anoterh 10 minutes.
4. While the duck is baking, you can make the risotto. Boil the stock and dice the onion and garlic. Put a medium saucepan over mnedium heat and heat up the olive oil. Saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes with a pinch of salt, then add the rice. Stir for a few minutes, then add the wine. When the rice absorbed all the wine, add half a cup of the boiling stock. Stir until this is absorbed by the rice too, then add another half cup of the stock.
5. Repeat this until the rice is cooked al dente. If you need more liquid, you can add a bit of water and wait until that absorbs too. Season to taste and take off of the heat.
6. Add the butter and the washed and slightly chopped spinach to the risotto. Stir and let it sit for 5 minutes. Serve with the sliced duck breast and pomegranate seeds.