Recipes Cumin-Scented Duck Breasts with Peach Succotash 3.0 (5,369) Add your rating & review To showcase the firmer fruit from his two adopted Elberta trees, Stuart Brioza created this succotash of corn, bell peppers and—in place of the usual lima beans—peaches. The succotash would be delicious with grilled lamb or swordfish as well as the duck breasts here. By Stuart Brioza Stuart Brioza F&W Star Chef » See All F&W Chef Superstars Restaurants: State Bird Provisions (San Francisco) Experience: Rubicon (San Francisco); Savarin (Chicago); Park Avenue Café (Chicago); Tapawingo (Ellsworth, MI) Education: Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, NY) What was the first dish you ever cooked yourself? Probably a big bowl of popcorn with fresh garlic butter and Parmesan cheese. I still cook that today. What is the most important skill for a cook to have? I would say for sure knowing how to layer flavor, striking balance within dishes with acids and salts and creaminesses and textures. It's a really important skill. What's your favorite cookbook of all time? Flatbreads & Flavors, by Naomi Duguid and Jeffrey Alford. It's sort of like a wanderlust adventure through these rural parts of the world that celebrate breads and dishes that center around these breads. I love the Sichuan flatbread—it's this great ropy kind of flatbread. It's supereasy. We've adopted a version of that for the restaurant. What do you eat straight out of the fridge? My ultimate favorite—are you ready for this?—is a corn tortilla that I toast over the gas burner. I rub it with butter, and then I stuff it with sauerkraut and Pecorino. I eat this over the sink because it drips. It's a guilty snack. What's the most cherished souvenir you've brought back from a trip? In Cambodia a few years ago, there was this roadside stand selling palm sugar. They made these little bowls out of coconuts, right on their property. The palm sugar didn't last very long, obviously—we used it. But the coconut shell totally did! Now I use them as salt containers. Instead of saying, “Pass the salt,” it's “Pass the coconut.” What's your hidden talent? Prior to opening State Bird I had a ceramics studio where I make some various plates and bowls and things like that, just for pleasure and a hobby. I've done it for the past five or six years now. When I was the chef at Rubicon, I would go once a week, on Tuesday mornings, to clear my mind, and be taught something versus being the one teaching. When Rubicon became no more, I just filled my time with that. I do have a passion for handmade anything, folk art, for sure. I did plates and bowls and what I call the “blate,” which is a bowl-plate. I did some things on the wheel and then I started getting really into mold making and making my own molds. Then developing recipes for glazes. I got into the science of it. I bought a number of different elements that go into glaze making. I guess I got pretty serious. We started off using some of it at State Bird, but they all break. Replacements are a bitch.2003 Best New Chef Bio Why Because of his commitment to bringing the Mediterranean to Michigan through his use of the most amazing local ingredients. Born Cupertino, CA, 1974. Education The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, NY. Experience Savarin and Park Avenue Cafe, Chicago. Why he became a chef "In high school, I had a job in a restaurant. I used to skip classes to work there. The chef taught me how to make confit, how to break down a chicken. I'd cut my hands every which way. But I never called in sick." Favorite warm-weather activity Riding his motorcycle in search of ramps (wild leeks). "In early spring, you can pull over and walk 10 feet off the road, and everywhere you look you'll see tons of ramps." Most memorable dinner Michel Bras, a three-star restaurant in France. "You stay overnight and listen to the cowbells outside your room. I was like, Where am I? I'm in a three-star restaurant, listening to cow bells." Won Best New Chef at: Tapawingo, Ellsworth, MI Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on February 6, 2017 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Total Time: 1 hrs Yield: 4 Ingredients 1 tablespoon cumin seeds 4 White Pekin duck breasts (8 ounces each) Salt and freshly ground pepper 2 ears of corn (unshucked) 1 large red bell pepper 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 large peaches—halved, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch dice 2 tablespoons water 2 tablespoons canola oil Cilantro sprigs, for garnish Directions In a skillet, toast the cumin seeds over high heat just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer to a spice grinder and let cool completely. Coarsely grind the seeds. Using a sharp paring knife, score the skin of the duck breast in a shallow crosshatch pattern, spacing the cuts about 1/2 inch apart. Rub the duck breasts with the cumin and season with salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the broiler. Arrange the corn and bell pepper on a rimmed baking sheet and broil 8 inches from the heat, turning, until charred, 8 minutes. Transfer the bell pepper to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let steam for 10 minutes. Shuck the corn. Using a serrated knife, cut the kernels from the cobs. Peel, core and finely chop the bell pepper. In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the corn, bell pepper, peaches and water and season with salt and pepper. Cook over high heat, stirring, until the peaches are just softened, about 5 minutes. In a large skillet, heat the canola oil. Add the duck breasts skin side down and cook over low heat until the skin is deeply browned, about 15 minutes; spoon off the fat as it accumulates in the pan. Turn the duck breasts over and cook for 8 minutes longer for medium. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the duck breasts crosswise and arrange the slices on plates. Spoon the succotash alongside, garnish with the cilantro sprigs and serve. Make Ahead The peach succotash can be covered and refrigerated overnight. Rewarm before serving. Suggested Pairing Lightly gamey duck is usually paired with Pinot Noir, but it can also go well with a white wine if the wine is full-bodied and savory enough—qualities that will also make it a good partner for Brioza's peach succotash. Try a dry Vouvray. Rate it Print