After having made a couple of great deals while grocery shopping, I ended up with plenty of delicious ingredients that needed to be converted into an adequate recipe. After having looked at my fridge I decided to make a low carb version of an Italian inspired spaghetti carbonara with duck breast. I hope you enjoy the recipe of my low carb duck breast with spaghetti and cream as much as I did creating it!
Low Carb Duck Breast with Spaghetti and Cream – Ingredients
Low Carb Duck Breast with Spaghetti and Cream: The Mighty Duck
Most of the ingredients used in this recipe are basically always in my kitchen. That would be mushrooms, onions, garlic, spring onions and poultry. In this case, it’s duck breast because I made a great bargain, getting 3 breasts on sale.
Poultry is by far my most favourite staple protein source. As my budget for food grew over the years I had the chance to try plenty of different poultry sources. Duck quickly became my favourite of them all.
It could also be that I might have been Asian in a previous life, hence my vivid interest in Asian culture and cuisine.
Heavy sear on the skin-side!
I aim to post more recipes using duck as a protein source because I want to show how versatile and easy to use this protein source is. On top of that, it’s a very delicious protein and not too difficult to handle. While I write this I already have another recipe half done and another flying around in my head. Are there specific recipes you’d like to read about?
Low Carb Duck Breast with Spaghetti and Cream: Eat Your Vegetables
I’ve been never a big fan of vegetables. Taste and texture didn’t go well with me. I mainly ate carbs and protein and fat via fried foods. This wasn’t the best diet out there and I paid the price. I was overweight, didn’t feel well and wasn’t very energetic.
I knew that I had to change in order to feel different. Hence I started to live by the motto “Be the change that you wish to see in the world”. This is a quote from Mahatma Gandhi and is applicable to all sorts of things. I used it to change my eating behaviour and over the years everything else followed suit (please note: it wasn’t easy, nor was it a straight road).
In the end I introduced more and more vegetables into my diet. Some where an acquired taste, others I fell in love instantly, some I can only eat in small doses and yet other vegetables I still don’t like at all. And that’s fine. The point is: I eat a lot of vegetables and I love eating them. That’s one of the reasons why my every day recipes are rather low in carbohydrates on a general basis.
Enjoy the process of creation and transformation and don’t forget to keep smiling 😀
As you enjoy food not only by taste but also by vision, I like to use different colours, textures and shapes. That’s where the “spaghetti” come into the play. They aren’t your grain based pasta but vegetables, simply brought into the needed shape. Part of the noodles used in this recipe is sponsored by Delhaize Luxembourg.
Low Carb Duck Breast with Spaghetti and Cream
I love the combination of cream (plant or dairy based), mushrooms, pepper and nutmeg. Even if you’re not big into spicy food, when cooking with cream you should at least – for the sake of trying – overdo it on the pepper and the nutmeg. It’s really a special kind of flavour and the cram can take it.
Out of the oven: let it rest for a few moments before you cut into the meat.
The key for a juicy duck breast with a crispy skin lies definitely in trimming excess skin and fat. Then you cut the skin in order for the breast to stay as even as possible. Make sure to rub some salt on the skin and into the cuts too. Now you really need to render down the fat under the skin by searing it on high heat until golden brown. You also want to sear the rest of the skin before you move it into your oven.
The first cut is always exciting. It’s the moment of truth and shows if all went according to plan.
In the oven, you place the breast skinny side up. This will make the skin crispy while the fat keeps to get rendered out, keeping the breast moist and brazing it simultaneously. When it’s done, you want to give the duck some rest and let the juices settle before you make the first cut.
That’s it, I really hope you enjoy this recipe and have fun re-creating it. Share your thoughts and the recipe with your friends. If you liked this, I encourage you to sign up for my newsletter. Having you on deck would be amazing and you won’t miss any further creations from my side.
Low Carb Duck Breast with Spaghetti and Cream
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- 400 g duck breast
- 200 g parsnip noodles
- 200 g butternut squash noodles
- 125 g mushrooms
- 1 medium onion
- 200 ml cream (I used vegan cream as this was what I had at home.)
- 1 ball mozarella (ca 200 g)
- garlic (to taste)
- 1 spring onion
- salt (to taste, but plenty as the noodles and the cream can take it)
- nutmeg, freshly ground (to taste)
- black pepper, freshly ground (to taste)
- cayenne pepper (to taste)
- Cut the mushrooms into halves or quarters (depending on their size). Cut onion into julienne. Set those ingredients aside.
- Trim the duck breast of all the excess skin and fat. Put it into a cold pan and heat it up to medium-high heat. This will render out the duck fat.
- Criss-cross cut the fat and skin until you see the breast. But don't cut the breast. This will not only look good and transfer the heat more evenly, it will also make sure that the duck breast won't roll up when you fry it. Rub salt in and onto the skin and cuts. This will make for a better skin later on.
- Pre-heat your oven to 180°C.
- Once you rendered out the fat, remove the fatty skin and place the duck breast skin-side down into the pan.
- Fry it until the skin is golden brown and looks crispy, This will take around 3-5 minutes. Then sear the other sides of the breast until it has some colour.
- Once this step is done, place the duck breast into your oven - skin-side up - for approximately 15 minutes. Keep the pan and the fat.
- Turn the heat for the pan on medium and add the mushrooms with the onion. Stir occasionally for the next 5 minutes. In case the frying of the duck didn't render enough fat, add some more (olive oil, butter, ghee).
- Add the garlic and stir-fry for another 5 minutes. You can start seasoning the vegetables and slice the spring onion into fine rings.
- At the last 5 minute mark, you can add the parsnip noodles and stir-fry for around two minutes. Then add the cream, the cheese and the butternut squash noodles.
- The duck breast should be ready by now. Turn off the oven and let it sit there. In the meantime taste and re-season the noodles, if needed. Make sure to thoroughly mix the pasta.
- Place the pasta in two bowls or soup dishes.
- The duck should have rested for at least 2 minutes (up to 5 is great, too). Take it out and slice into tranches. Serve on top of the noodles and sprinkle the spring onions over everything.
- In case there is some duck juice on your cutting board, distribute the juice over the duck.
- Serve and enjoy!