Shock to the Senses:
The nose is literally «fooled», the taste buds are awakened.
How can a fragrance so strongly represent the delicious powder?
With the magic of haute perfumery and the talent of Thierry Mugler…
THE RECIPE
Sautéed duck breast in a pink praline crust,
beets, turnips and raspberries, beet and citrus sauce
Intense Mexican mole sauce
Serves 4
Preparation time: 45 min.
Cooking time: 7 to 8 min. (cooling time: 5 min.)
Duck breast
• 4 duck breasts • 100g (1 cup) of pink pralines
• 50g (1/5 cup) of duck fat • Salt
• Espelette pepper
Cut the skin of the duck breasts very thin with a small knife, taking care
not to cut the fat all the way through to the meat.
Crush the pralines by wrapping them in a towel. Use the bottom of a
heavy pot to crush them so that the pralines “burst“.
Season the duck breasts with salt and Espelette pepper. Place them in a
very hot pan, skin side down, in a small amount of duck fat.
Cook on high heat for 4 to 5 minutes to sear the fat, which will melt.
Remove pan from heat and remove the separated fat from the pan,
turning the duck breasts over to the meat side. Finish cooking them for
3 minutes in an oven preheated to 350° F (180°C).
Remove from the oven and take the duck breasts out of the pan. Let sit
for 5 to 10 minutes.
Finally, dip the skin side of the duck breasts in the crushed pralines and
continue to sauté the “skin and pralines side“ for 2 minutes in a very
hot pan.
Garnish
• 1 bunch of red beets • 1 bunch of yellow beets
• 1 bunch of new turnips • 50g (1/5 cup) of butter
• Salt • Espelette pepper
Peel the beets and turnips. Boil them separately in salted water.
Just before serving the dish, melt some butter in a pan and roll the
beets and turnips in it to glaze them.
Beet sauce
• 250g (1/2 lb) of beets
• Lemon zest cut with a peeler
• Grapefruit zest cut with a peeler
• Orange zest cut with a peeler
Use a juicer to extract beet juice. Pour it into a small saucepan with the
citrus zest.
Reduce the sauce by ¾ over gentle heat until it becomes syrupy.
The little extra: mole sauce
• 25cl (1 cup) of the cooking juice from poultry
• 25g (13/4 tbsp) of Mexican mole paste (otherwise, bitter cocoa paste)
• Raspberry vinegar • Salt
• Espelette pepper
Melt the mole paste in a small pan, pour in the cooking juice and reduce
by 1/3.
Season with salt and Espelette pepper and add a few drops of raspberry
vinegar.
Presentation:
• 30g (1/3 cup) of beet sprouts
• 50g (1/2 cup) of raspberries
Cut each duck breast into 3 pieces and set them out on 4 plates.
Display the beets, turnips and a few raspberries on a serving plate,
then pour a thin line of beet juice over the vegetables and top with beet
sprouts.
Taste as is at first, then add the mole sauce.
Hélène Darroze
The daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter of cooks, Hélène Darroze became a chef out of a love for food. After earning her business degree, Hélène joined the administrative teams of Alain Ducasse’s Louis XV*** restaurant in Monaco. The Chef, from France’s Landes region, rapidly noticed the immense talent of his coworker, also from the southwest of France, and encouraged her to venture over to the other side of the stoves.
She would remain in Monaco for three years, until 1995, when she decided to take over the family business, Relais&Châteaux in Villeneuve-de-Marsan.
Encouraged by Ducasse, she highlighted her knowledge and her heritage: respect for quality products, a taste for good things and the importance of work well done.
In 1999, Hélène began her Paris adventure, opening her own restaurant at 4, rue d’Assas. The success was instantaneous: one Michelin star in 2000 and a second in 2003…
The fabulous gastronomic adventure even stretched beyond France’s borders. In 2008, she brought her French cuisine style to the prestigious Connaught restaurant in London, also earning her two Michelin stars.
In February 2010, Hélène was named Chevalier of the illustrious French Ordre National du Mérite by the President of France, who saw in her the best representative of French gastronomy.
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