Seared Muscovy Duck with Pumpkin Seed Sauce & Roasted Carrots served over Roasted Nopale
from jmarquez1976, "Understanding Mexican Cuisine" at http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=291205

This version of Pipian is a great initiator to Mexican nut based salsas /sauces, because it is relatively simple but the results are great....you will have thick, very herbal, very clean & fresh sauce that is also very fullfilling & earthy and goes great with dark meat poultry like Duck & Squab.

The Sauce

1) Toast 2 Cups of Raw Hulled Pepitas (Pumpkin Seeds) over a medium hot skillet (do it in batches so they are pretty much in a single layer). Toss them ever 30 seconds or so until they begin popping...then set them aside to cool.

2) In a blender puree the Pumpkin Seeds, 1/2 chopped onion, 4 chopped Serrano chiles, 20 large sprigs of Cilantro, 6 Romaine Leaves, 4 large Radish Leaves, dash of Dried Thyme & Mexican Oregano, 2 cups of Chicken Broth. Note, start the blender in the lowest speed then increase it gradually until you have a rough paste.

3) Sear the puree with 2 Tablespoons Peanut Oil in a pot adding it a little bit at a time.

4) After 10 minutes of Searing add 2 Cups of Chicken Broth & bring to a simmer for another 20 minutes.

5) Blend the sauce until its a fine puree.

6) At this point you can strain the puree. Do so for a fancy event. Do not do it for casual use (so that you don't lose any of the valuable fiber).

Set the sauce aside.

The Nopal

1) Remove the thorns from the Nopal by holding a knife perpendicular to the Cactus Pads then move back & forth to scrap them off.

2) Rinse the Nopal Pads & pat dry. Then rub with a little bit of Olive Oil & sprinkle Salt.

3) Roast the Nopal Pads on a cookie sheet over a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes. Then flip them over & roast for another 5 to 10 minutes. The color will change from bright green to a more pastel like color.

The Carrots

1) Cut plain old cheap carrots into a French Fry shape & size the cover in Olive Oil & sprinkle salt over them

2) Roast the Carrots on a cookie sheet over a 375 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes. The should sweat & carmelize a bit.

The Duck

1) Take a Boneless Muscovy Duck breast & slice it in half. Then filet each half to half thickness. Just put a filet knife in the right spot....and work the knick in...using your hands to try to spread the Duck every so often. Otherwise ask your butcher to do it for you.

2) Salt the Duck & sear skin side down until the skin carmezlizes a bit & releases some fat. Then flip over and sear for a minute or so.

3) Brush the Duck with a little bit of the Pipian then roast it on a cookie sheet over a 375 degree oven for about 4 minutes for medium rare.

Finishing the Dish

1) Place the whole Roasted Nopal Pad accross the dish.

2) Place the Duck Breast on the base of the Nopal.

3) Arrange the carrots in a little bundle on the Nopal up against the Duck....make sure you leave the top half of the Nopal Pad visible.

4) Pour a generous amount of warmed Pipian around the Nopal Pad.

In addition to its succulent flavor, the Nopal is also used to protect the Carrots from getting Pipian on them and for its very unique, earthy & intriguing visual appeal.

Alright, if you follow the recipe above (courtesy of Rick Bayless & adjusted slightly by Moi) you are going to have lots of leftover Pipian Sauce. What to do with it?

Pipian makes a great versatile sauce that can be used in an infinite amount of Mexican & Non-Mexican dishes. You can use it to make Yucatecan Papadzules (basically an Enchilada that is stuffed with shredded chicken, topped with Pumpkin Seed Sauce & slices of hard boiled Eggs).

For lunch today....I just reheated about 1/2 cup of Sauce, served on a plate with a wedge of Queso Fresco, diced Serrano Chile, julienne of raw Cauliflower and a couple slices of Sourdough bread to soak up the sauce.

That.....was......delicious!