Sonoma duck shepherd's pie

Nicolas Bour, executive chef of Avant at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego, updates classic shepherd’s pie by using duck instead of traditional ground lamb or beef.

First, he lightly browns garlic and sweet onions, deglazes the pan with red wine, adds duck stock and cooks the mixture until it reduces in volume by about half. Then he adds shredded duck confit, celery root, cooked green lentils, diced carrots, English peas, fava beans, pearl onions, thyme and flat-leaf parsley. Bour uses local vegetables in the dish.

He simmers the pie’s filling for 15 minutes, then pours it into a baking dish. He covers the filling with puréed Yukon Gold potatoes mixed with egg yolks for color. He bakes the pie until the potatoes turn golden brown.

The dish is priced at $28.

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