Service for 4

For the Rhubarb Sauce:

Add 2 tablespoons of butter, 1-2 tablespoons of sugar, 4 rhubarb sticks cut into 1 inch pieces, and a 1 inch chunk of ginger mashed to a medium pan. Add 1/2 cup of chicken or vegetable stock. Simmer over a low flame until the rhubarb is soft. Remove the ginger and blend the mixture till smooth.

For the Candied Ginger:

Julienne strips of fresh ginger. Par boil in water for 1-2 minutes, then refresh. Return the ginger julienne to pot and add a few tablespoons of water, 1/2 tablespoon of butter, 1 tablespoon of sugar and the julienne ginger. Heat to evaporate the water and then continue to heat until the ginger begins to caramelize. Remove the ginger from the pan and put on parchment or wax paper till ready to use.

Red Zinfandel Reduction:

Add 1 cup of red zinfandel wine, 1 small chopped shallot and 1 star anise to small pot. Reduce till a slight syrup. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and whisk. Continue to heat liquid till desired consistency is achieved. Send the lquid through a fine sieve.

Duck:

Score duck skin. Season both sides. Add duck breast skin side down to a hot frying pan. Cook till skin is crispy (4-5 minutes). Turn and cook duck on other side for 1-2 minutes on medium-low flame. Let duck rest 5 minutes before slicing thin.

Swiss Chard:

While duck is resting, pour off any fat in pan and add the Swiss Chard (salt and pepper) and two tablespoons of stock to the pan the duck was sautéed in. Wilt the Swiss Chard quickly keeping the color fresh.

Assembly:

Put a portion of Swiss Chard in the center of a plate. Fan the sliced duck breast around the Swiss Chard. Spoon the rhubarb sauce around the Swiss Chard. Then drizzle the red wine reduction around the rhubarb sauce. Top with candied ginger.

Wine Notes:

Use the same type of wine for drinking that is used in the wine reduction. For this recipe we used a Rancho Zabaco Reserve 2004 for both the wine reduction and for drinking.