New England-Inspired Pasta with Pumpkin, Cranberries, and Spice-Crusted Duck

Pumpkin, cranberry, and duck - all autumn foods, all native to New England, but not necessarily anything you’d associate with linguine and cream sauce!

My intention for tonight’s dinner was to use the pumpkin I had left over from Sunday’s broiled polenta squares. I was going to cube and cook the pumpkin, add it to alfredo sauce with a little bit of nutmeg and black pepper, and serve it over radiatore, a type of short dried pasta. Still, I felt the recipe was bland and needed a kick, but I had no clue what that kick would be. Then I saw a bag of cranberries, and I found the kick. After I threw the cranberries in my basket, I went straight for the poultry section and picked up a fresh duck breast.

I had no idea how cranberries would work with pasta, but I was willing to find out. I had a recipe in mind - which is what I’m sharing with you below - but several kitchen mishaps and zone outs prevented my final dish from coming into fruition the way I would have liked. First, as I was stirring my pasta, I managed to splash boiling water out of the pan and straight onto my hip, so instead of attending to my food I was attending to my skin. Then, I completely zoned out, and instead of waiting until the pasta was plated to add the duck, I added it with the cream sauce. Oops. Finally, when I tasted it, I realized that it was missing something - I forgot to add the salt. So, I added a generous pinch of salt, stirred, dealt with the fact that I wasn’t going to be able to take a pretty picture, and mourned for the crispy spice crust on the duck that got lost once I added it to the cream sauce. Put it this way - if Gordon Ramsay was in my kitchen tonight, he probably would have told me to piss off. That being said, he wouldn’t have spit my food out, because despite my little string of disasters, the final product was delicious!

Here is the recipe as it was intended to be. Enjoy the flavors of fall in New England!


Linguine with Spice-Crusted Duck Breast, Pumpkin and Cranberries

10 oz. Linguine
1 duck breast, skin removed and reserved
½ t. nutmeg, separated in half
½ t. finely ground black pepper, separated
2 T. butter
2 cups cubed pumpkin
2/3 cup cranberries, halved
1 T. grappa
1 cup light cream
½ c. grated pecorino
Salt to taste

Cook the linguine. In the meantime, heat a heavy bottomed pan over high heat. Once it is hot, place the duck skin in the pan and cook it for 2-3 minutes until the fat begins to melt and coat the pan. While duck skin is cooking, rub the duck breast with ¼ t. of the nutmeg and ¼ t. of the pepper.

Remove the duck fat and place the duck breast in the pan. Cook each side for approximately 4 minutes, then remove from pan and set aside. Lower heat, add the butter and stir until it melts, then add the pumpkin, cranberries, and grappa. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the cranberries have begun to break apart. In the meantime, slice the duck breast crosswise into 6 slices approximately ½” thick.

Next, add the cream and pecorino, stirring until the cheese has melted into the cream and the sauce has thickened. Add the remaining nutmeg, pepper, and salt to taste, stir a few times, then add the cooked pasta. Cook for an extra minute, then serve, dividing pasta into 3 portions and topping with 2 slices of the cooked duck breast.