Roast duck with ginger wine jus

• 
• INGREDIENTS:
• 
  
• 4 duck breasts, skin on
• 4 tbsp ginger wine
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Roast potatoes, carrots and parsnips and wilted spinach, to serve   

For the clementine compote:

• 100g (3½ oz) caster sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
• 4 tbsp ginger wine
• 3 clementines, each sliced into 5, then quartered and pips removed

  Method

  1. To make the compote: Put the sugar, cinnamon stick and ginger in a pan with the ginger wine and 150ml (5fl oz) water. Stir over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, add the clementine pieces and simmer for 8 mins, to soften the fruit. Strain the syrup into a jug. Set aside the clementine pieces in a bowl and remove the cinnamon stick. Pour the syrup back into the pan and bring back to the boil until it has reduced to a jammy consistency. Pour into the bowl with the cooked clementine and leave to cool.
  2. Set the oven to Gas Mark 7 or 220°C. Put a roasting tin in to heat up. Score the skin of the duck breasts in both directions to make a diamond pattern on top.
  3. Heat a heavy-based frying pan. When really hot, put the duck breasts in the pan, skin-side down. Cook for 5 minutes or more, until the skin browns. Take them out and put, skin-side up, in the roasting tin. Cook for 10-12 mins, depending on how pink you like the meat. Pour the fat from the frying pan into a small bowl and use for cooking another time. Take the duck out of the oven. Wrap it in foil and leave for 10 mins. Slice the duck breasts neatly.
  4. Scrape the juices from the roasting tin into the cleaned frying pan, add the ginger wine and 2 tbsp water and boil for 1 minute to make a jus. Season and pour over the duck. Serve with the compote (warm or cool) and roast vegetables and spinach.

crisp slow-roast duck

• 
• INGREDIENTS:
• 1 duckling, around 2.3 - 2.7kg (5-6lb)
• 500g (1lb 2oz) turnips
• Salt and pepper
  
  For the sauce
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 sticks celery, diced
• 1 bottle fruity red wine
• 1 bouquet garni ( a few stalks of parsley, 2 good sprigs of thyme, 2 bay leaves, 1 small sprig sage tied together with string)
• 750ml (1¼ pts) duck stock or chicken stock
• 2tbsp redcurrant jelly

  Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 220°C (425°F, gas mark 7). Wipe the duck dry with kitchen paper. Prick the skin all over with a skewer, or a fork if the tines are sharp, so the fat can run out more easily as it cooks. Season generously with salt and pepper. Sit the duck on a rack over a roasting tin and slide it into the oven. Turn the heat down to 180°C (350°F, gas mark 4) and leave it to cook for 2½ hrs.
  2. During that time, all you need to do, whenever you feel like it, is drain off the fat that's gathered in the roasting tin.
  3. Once you've got your first crop of fat, take 1tbsp of it and heat in a frying pan. Add the carrot, onion and celery and sauté until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned. Now add the wine and the herb bundle.
  4. Bring to the boil, stirring thoroughly, then boil hard until reduced by half. Add the stock and boil again until reduced by about a third to a half, giving a syrupy sauce. Stir in the redcurrant jelly until it has melted, then strain into a small pan. Add a little salt and pepper and simmer for about 2 mins. Taste and adjust seasoning. Re-heat when needed.
  5. Peel the turnips, cut into 2cm (¾") cubes and blanch in boiling water for 3 mins. Drain and run under the cold tap. Leave to drain thoroughly.
  6. About 40 mins before the duck is done, drain off most of the fat, leaving a bit in the tin. Add the turnips and turn them in the fat, then leave to roast with the duck.
  7. When the duck and turnips are cooked turn off the oven and leave the door open. Let them rest like this for about 15 mins.
  8. Using a sharp knife or poultry shears, cut the roast duck into four pieces, cutting first from head to tail end, along the breastbone and through the backbone to give two halves, then dividing each half in two.
  9. Serve quickly while still warm with the roast turnips and reheated sauce.

Marmalade-roasted duck and gravy

Ingredients

For the duck

• 1 duck, approximately 2kg (4lb) prepared weight
• Salt
• 4 level tbsp thin-cut orange marmalade
• 2tbsp Cointreau

For the gravy

• 2tbsp cornflour
• Few drops of gravy browning, optional
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2tbsp Cointreau

  Method

  1. Set the oven to fairly hot, gas mark 6 or 200°C. Prick the duck all over with a fork and place it on a rack in a roasting tin and sprinkle with a little salt. Roast in the centre of the oven for about 45 mins. Remove the duck from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to moderate, gas mark 4 or 180°C.
  2. Warm the marmalade with the Cointreau until it's runny, and brush it over the duck. Return the duck to the oven and cook for a further 1-1¼ hrs, basting it occasionally with any remaining marmalade mixture. Cook the duck until the juices run clear when the thickest part is pierced with a skewer. Remove from the oven, transfer it to a warm serving plate, cover with a sheet of foil and keep in a warm place for about 10-15 mins before carving, to allow the meat to 'rest'.
  3. To make the gravy: Strain the juices from the duck then use a separating jug, or skim off the fat. Make the juices up to 600ml (1 pint) with boiling water. Heat the juices to boiling point in a saucepan. Mix the cornflour with 2tbsp cold water, and gravy browning if using, and then slowly pour into the juices, stirring well to give a smooth gravy.
  4. Season to taste, and stir in the Cointreau just before serving. Keep the gravy hot until serving. (Not suitable for freezing).

Roast breast of duck with damson beer glaze

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 duck breasts1 tsp Chinese five spice
• 250ml damson beer
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 juniper berries, crushed
• 1 tbsp damson jelly
• 1 tsp chopped rosemary
• 100ml hot chicken stock

To serve:

• 1 packet of mixed wild mushrooms
• 1 garlic clove sliced
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 20g butter
• 1 fresh thyme sprig, chopped

  Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/gas 6. In a small saucepan, bring the damson beer, juniper, bay leaf and damson jelly to the boil and reduce until glossy syrup is formed, remove from heat.
  2. Score the skin of the duck with a sharp knife - making sure not to cut into the meat - then rub in the Chinese five spice.
  3. Fry the duck skin side down until golden in an ovenproof frying pan, flip over to seal the meat and then back onto the skin side. Spoon some of the glaze over the duck and cook in the oven for 12 minutes. Leave to rest for 5 minutes.
  4. In a separate pan add the olive, garlic and butter and when hot add the mushrooms. Sauté for 2-3 minutes before adding the thyme, then divide between serving plates.
  5. Place the remainder of the syrup back onto the heat with the chicken stock. Slice the duck and arrange it over the mushrooms, finishing with the sauce.