Sauteed Duck Breasts are elegant entree

With Valentine’s Day looming, here’s an elegant entree that any basic cook can execute with ease. I’m talking about duck breasts with a five-ingredient sauce, the making of which requires all of 15 minutes of hands-on time.

But first, let’s address a few common misconceptions about duck. Pekin duck — the kind of duck called for in this recipe and the one most readily available at stores and online — is not gamy. It’s also not fattening, especially if you remove the skin. (I’ll confess that I love the skin. It’s where all of the crispiness lives.)

Finally, though, there are at least three other reasons to roll with a duck breast on this special occasion, none of which has anything to do with health: it’s scrumptious, it cooks as quickly as a steak or a pork chop, and it’s a great landing pad for any of the sauces you would put on either of those meats.

The sauce in this recipe for Sauteed Duck Breasts is a classic of French cuisine: shallots, wine, cream, mustard and peppercorns. The cream doubles as a thickener because that’s the superpower it develops when it’s reduced. Don’t have green peppercorns at hand? Use crushed black peppercorns. Or, if you’d prefer to lose the sauce’s peppery bite, leave out the peppercorns entirely.

Two tips about cooking duck breast: First, let it cook for the majority of the necessary time with the skin side down so that the skin becomes crispy and the fat is rendered out. Leave the hot fat in the pan as it accumulates; it helps to melt even more fat from the skin. Secondly, be sure to let the duck breast rest after it’s been cooked. As with any other animal protein, cooking the breast chases its juices to its outside layers. As the breast rests, the juices are reabsorbed, which prevents the duck from drying out when sliced.

SAUTEED DUCK BREASTS

Start to finish: 40 minutes (15 minutes hands-on)

Servings: 2

INGREDIENTS

2 Pekin duck breast halves (about 8 ounces each) Kosher salt 2 tablespoons minced shallots 1/3 cup dry white wine ½ cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon drained green peppercorns in brine

SARA MOULTON VIA AP This photo shows sauteed duck breasts in New York. This dish is from a recipe by Sara Moulton.