I cooked this dish for my husband’s birthday. It uses ideas from two previous recipes: Duck breast with lavender and honey, and English peas purée with mint and Bulgarian feta.
serves: 4 difficulty: easy prep time: 15 min
Ingredients
For the duck breasts
- 2 large duck breasts
- 4 tbs honey
- 2 tbs dried lavender
For the English pea puree
- 4 cups shelled fresh shelled English peas
- 2 medim shallots
- 2 tsb olive oil for frying + 1/4 cup for the purée
- 1 quart chicken or vegetable stock (if you want to keep vegan / vegetarian)
- 10-12 mint leaves
- 3 tbs lemon juice
- 1/2 avocado
- pea shoots for garnish
For the mushrooms
- 1 lbs trumpet mushrooms, or a mix of trumpets and other mushrooms.
Preparation
To prepare the duck you can use the interactions from the Duck breast with lavender and honey post. However, since I published it, I have switched the order of how I prepare it: I first cook it in the sous-vide and then sear it once it is out of the sous-vide. Here is the quick version:
score the duck breasts
Season them with salt and pepper on the meat side.
Drizzle 1-2 tbs honey on each breast, and spread the lavender.
Vacuum seal, and cook in the sous-vide at 132 degrees Fahrenheit. Once cooked, sear the breasts skin side down.


Rest the duck breast for 5 min before slicing.
To prepare the English peas puree follow the instructions from English peas purée with mint and Bulgarian feta. However, you need to make to modifications:
- once you have boiled the English peas, reserve 1 cup of them – you will use them directly in dish.
- when you puree the peas, add 1/2 avocado to the puree. It adds additional creaminess.
There are two separate mushroom preparations to make:
- roast the biggest trumpets
- pan- sauté the rest of the mushrooms
Slice the biggest trumpets in two lengthwise. Score them diagonally.
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the scored trumpets scored side down in a roasting pan with the olive oil. Season them with salt and pepper.
Roast the mushrooms until tender – about 20 min. Take them out of the oven, and flip them scored sire up. Roast for another 10 min.
When they are done, they should look something like this.
Next you will prepare the rest of the mushrooms. Cut the bigger ones in 1 inch pieces. Heat a sauté pan, and add the olive oil. Mince the garlic. Once the oil shimmers, add the mushrooms and the minced garlic. Cover and saute until the mushrooms are caramelized and tender, about 20-30 min. If needed, add some water. Once the mushrooms are cooked, add the Marsala wine and cook until it evaporates.
Remove from the heat.
To assemble the dish:
- spread the peas-avocado puree as a strip on one side of the plate. I use a spatula to do that.
- then spread some of the reserved cooked peas and the sautéed mushrooms
- garnish with the pea shoots.
- slice the duck and place next to the peas-avocado puree strip
- garnish with the scored trumpet mushrooms
The finished plate should look like this:






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