Recipe for sweet duck with mushrooms and homemade pumpkin pickles

Last week we received the pleasant news that three restaurants in our country entered the well-known 50 Best Restaurants list. as the best in Latin America in the range from 51 to 100: Casa Julián y Mikka, by Guayaquil, and Quitu, From the capital. Although the list also rewards positions 1 to 50, where we hope to have our representatives, being already located in the top 100 is a great achievement, which is due to the work of those who are in charge of these restaurants, chefs, cooks, room staff, administrators and the businessmen who support their management.

Three restaurants in Ecuador appear as classified in the list of the best in Latin America

Always a list like this or the renowned Michelin Guide generate controversy in the sector, and this is no exception, although cooking is subjective, it has parameters that can be measured and valued. We all take pride in our kitchen and rate it as the best, but that’s not enough, so we must know how the lists work: what is measured, what must be done to be on it; to begin with, the fundamental point is that you must have a very good product and already as a strategy, a very good public relations campaign that makes this excellent product known; Once there, the important thing is to know how to stay, position yourself and get the most out of the media that turns into sales, visits from internal and external tourists, that talks about our kitchen, our country, our pantry, mentions the chefs who are behind those kitchens, which are the ones that in the end make the difference between one restaurant and another, and in the end motivate and push others more than deserve it.

Two restaurants in ‘Gran Guayaquil’ among the 50 best in Latin America, what are they?

I have known Casa Julián since its inception, a good part of its staff comes from the youth ranks of our institution, it opened its doors with Juan Carlos Ordóñez, a chef from Guayaquil who broke the model of traditional Ecuadorian cuisine that we had until then, with a proposal modern that maintained its origins. The post was taken by a young chef with a lot of technique and creativity such as Javi Urrutia, who captured his style in this novel and successful proposal, making it evolve and grow until it was positioned among the best in the country; now it is Santi Nieto’s turn, who in command of his kitchen has the challenge of not only maintaining what his colleagues have achieved, but also exceeding it, desire and craft will not be lacking, He has training and belongs to that new generation of chefs full of creativity and passion.

Congratulations to Casa Julián, from the Oro Verde group, which, under the gastronomic direction of Ramón Salto, has managed in a short time to position one of our Guayaquil restaurants among the best on the continent.

In his tribute we present one of his recipes in our Sunday column without failing to mention that we will eventually have the other two award-winning restaurants.

The recipe

Ingredients for the duck magret:

• 1 clean duck breast
• Salt
• ground black pepper

Ingredients for the stir-fry:

• 2 tomatoes
• 2 onions
• 2 peppers
• 4 garlic cloves
• Annatto in oil
• oreganon
• good grass
• chillangua

Ingredients for the pickles pumpkin:

• 1 cup of white wine vinegar
• 1 cup of water
• ½ cup of sugar
• ¼ cup salt
• Sweet spices (pepper, cloves, cinnamon)
• ¼ pumpkin

Ingredients for the confit duck thighs:

• 2 duck thighs
• neutral oil
• 1 pearl onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• Rosemary
• Thyme

Ingredients for the sweet:

• 1 cup of fat grain rice
• 2 confit duck thighs
• 2 portobello mushrooms
• ½ cup shitakes mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons of base sauce
• 3 cups of chicken stock
• Cilantro
• good grass
• 2 butter spoons
• 1/4 cup of peas
• ½ carrot

Preparation:

1. For him magretmake transversal cuts in the breast fat, season and cook it on the fat side in a frying pan at medium heat, leaving it tender and juicy in the center
2. For the sauce, cut all the vegetables and fry them in achiote oil until they are cooked, add the aromatic herbs and process until obtaining a paste.
3. For the pickles of squash, cut the squash into slices, mix with all the other ingredients and heat them to 90 °C until the sugar and salt dissolve, cool the mixture obtained and store with the laminated squash in an airtight jar.
4. For the confit duck thighs, place the thighs seasoned with salt and pepper in a pot, add neutral oil, vegetables and the aromatic herbs, bring to 70 °C for two hours until the duck meat is cooked and tender, shred the meat and preserve it.
5. For the sweet one, sauté the rice with a little oil, add the chicken stock and cook until the rice is crystalline, add the sauce, shredded duck meat and the sliced ​​mushrooms of your choice, the carrot and the blanched and cut peas in small cubes, cook until a creamy texture is achieved; finish by rectifying the flavor with butter, coriander and mint.
6. For the plating, place the sweet duck in a deep plate, accompany it with the magret of cooked duck, add pickles of squash and to finish we can decorate with coriander sprouts.

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