Not Just a Man's World

I got this recipe from a Nigel Slater recipe in an Observer magazine.  I cooked it the next weekend and found that there was only a single duck crown left in the shop.  I wonder if everyone else had been trying it too?

The recipe is incredibly easy to do and the finished product tastes marvellous (both hot and cold).

Roast duck, baked apples and roasted veg

Ingredients: (serves 2 or 3)
a large duck
1 onion
1 tbsp Chinese five-spice powder
6 small dessert apples
2 large glasses cider (or stock, if you are being non-alcohol paleo)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 220C.
2. Place the bird into a roasting tin and stuff the onion, halved if necessary, into the chest cavity.
3. Rub the five-spice powder all over the flesh.  This was incredibly fun to do since it’s quite hands-on.  You need to massage it into the skin rather than just sprinkling it over the top.
4. Put the duck into the hot oven without adding any oil or butter.  Duck is quite fatty.
5. Roast for 35 minutes then reduce the heat to 200C.
6. Score the skin of the apples around the middle to stop them from exploding in the oven.
7. Remove the duck from the oven and carefully tip off as much fat as possible, leaving any interesting-looking juices behind in the pan (the fat can be used for frying or roasting other meat joints at a later date).
8. Tuck the apples round the duck and return to the oven for a further 30-45 mins.  Check regularly.  if the skin starts to get too dark then place a piece of foil over it.
9. Remove the duck and apples from the pan and put somewhere to keep warm.  Meanwhile, empty out any excessive fat from the pan, put the pan over a high heat and add the stock or cider.  Bring to the boil while scraping away the meat juices from the bottom of the pan.
10. Once the sauce is simmering and the pan is as clean as you can get it, taste it to check the seasoning and then serve with the duck and apples.

Related posts:

1. Paleo recipes: simple roast duck
2. Paleo recipes: blackberry and apple cheesecake toppings
3. Paleo recipes: roast pork with crackling
4. Paleo recipes: spiced roast chicken