HONEY-BRAISED DUCK WITH ALMONDS & RAISINS

Tonight's dinner was this recipe from Neil Perry's Simply Good Food cookbook called Honey-braised duck with almonds and olives, but I followed his suggestion and used raisins instead of olives. I like recipes that mix duck with fruit..... It is super easy to make and loved the fact that it is not too greasy - you get rid of the rendered fat from the duck. Also, I used free range duck legs. I used the lemon juice, but I put it as an optional ingredient because it gave the sauce a bit of a sour and acidic flavour, that some people might not like. I think it works well when using raisins, because it cuts through its sweetness and balances the flavours. Anyway, it was delicious and the meat was falling off the bone. Served with some wholemeal couscous as suggested, it was certainly a scrumptious meal 😋😍🥰😁!

Ingredients

4 large duck legs

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

8 brown shallots, halved lengthways if large

500 ml chicken stock

1 Tbsp honey

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground coriander

6 garlic cloves, peeled

1 rosemary sprig, leaves picked

100 g whole blanched almonds

100 g raisins (or 180g green olives)

juice of 1 lemon (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Cut the duck legs in two at the joint (if they are very large) and season with salt and pepper.

Heat the oil over medium heat in a deep, ovenproof, heavy-based pan until it smokes. Add the duck, skin side down, and brown for 2 minutes on each side. 

Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the shallots to the pan and toss over medium heat until golden. 

Remove and set aside.

Discard the oil and rendered duck fat. Add the stock, stirring to loosen any caramelised bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the honey and spices, return the duck to the pan, skin side up, along with the shallots, garlic, rosemary, almonds and raisins (or olives) and season. Bring to the boil.

Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 180C, cover with a tight-fitting lid or several layers of foil and bake for a further 40 minutes.

Strain the duck mixture through a fine sieve into a large bowl, reserving the solids. Return the liquid to the pan and simmer, uncovered, to reduce by about half or until a good sauce consistency. Skim any impurities from the top. Add the lemon juice if using. Return the duck and other solids to the pan, heat through and taste for seasoning.

Serve with a bowl of steamed couscous or rice ad a large salad.

Serves 4

Notes from the author:

"This dish is a cracker with chicken or quail instead of the duck. I also like it with raisins in place of the olives."