PAPARO ALL’ARANCIA
DUCK WITH ORANGE
In our mad, frantic lives, few people have time for fiddly or complicated meals. (Which could well explain the poor sales of my third book, Audrey’s Fiddly &Complicated Meals.) However, this dish is worth the extra effort and, after one or two practice runs, I think you’ll find it quite achievable.
1 × ½ KG DUCK
1 CLOVE GARLIC
SPRIG OF ROSEMARY
SALT
FRESHLY GROUNDBLACK PEPPER
3 ORANGES
3 PEARS
EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
1 CARROT, COARSELY CHOPPED
1 ONION, ROUGHLY CHOPPED
1 STICK CELERY, GENTLYCHOPPED
250 ML DRY WHITE WINE
1.2 CUP SUGAR
750 ML WATER
2 TABLESPOONS WATER
1 TABLESPOON LEMON JUICE
1. Pre-heat oven to 190°C.
2. Wash and dry the duck. Place the garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper and zest of 1 orange into the cavity.
3. Pour a good glug of olive oil into a large roasting pan. Add the duck, surround the bird with vegetables, add another glug of oil over everything. Roast for about 1½ hours. Ten minutes into the roasting time, pour the wine over the duck.
4. Peel the zest from the remaining 2 oranges and cut into very thin strips. Peel and halve the pears. Place oranges and pears in a saucepan with 750ml water and bring to the boil, then drain. Repeat the process two more times in order to remove the bitterness.
5. Half an hour into the roasting time, squeeze the juice from the 2 oranges and pears over the duck.
6. Heat the sugar, 2 tablespoons water and the lemon juice over a low heat until the sugar caramelises. Add the strips of orange zest and continue to cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, then set aside.
7. When the duck is cooked, remove the garlic, rosemary and orange zest from the cavity. Transfer the meal to a baking dish, then spoon over the caramelised orange zest. Return to the oven for a further 10 minutes. Serve hot.
AUDREY’S TIP
Take care when heating the sugar; you want it to melt slowly and turn a lovely golden brown. If it burns, you’ve heated it too quickly and should probably move on to a less challenging recipe. (There are some lovely simple salads in this book.)