JUST JULIA COOKS: Duck a L'orange

Eating out is something I adore doing. It's like shopping for fashion addicts or the latest lip-kit release for beauty fanatics. However, I do love to spend time in the kitchen experimenting with new dishes. As part of my New Year's resolutions - many of which have already been panned - I've decided to challenge myself to cook more, without putting too much pressure on myself of course.

This challenge is something I'm really excited about, and although I usually live off stir fry's I want to cook dishes I've never tackled before.

Having a really busy work schedule, I sometimes find it hard to fit in time in the evening to cook so dishes that are quick and easy to make are a must for me. With Spring slowly creeping in - providing the Beast of the Beast.3 doesn't make an appearance later on this week - I've turned my attention to light, fragrant dishes. Queue Duck a L'Orange, a delicious French dish with a stunning sweet yet slightly tart sauce.

I served mine with hasselback potatoes, but I'd also recommend having it with rice too or stir fry vegetables.

Recipe:
Serves: 2

Pre/cooking Time: Around 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 120ml of honey
• 2 large oranges (1 peeled and separated into segments and 1 for juicing)
• 2 shallots (finely chopped)
• 2 duck breasts seasoned with salt and pepper
• 1 small handful of chopped thyme
• 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 2 tablespoons of orange zest

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Score the skin of the duck breasts and lightly season with salt and pepper.
3. Peel one of the oranges and separate the segments of the orange. Zest the second orange and cut in half. Juice both halves of the orange into a cup.
4. Cook the duck on one side in a pan on a low-medium heat until the skin is crisp and the duck is cooked. Flip over and seal the duck for about 30 seconds.
5. Put the duck in the oven on a baking tray for around 5 minutes or until cooked through.
6. Whilst the duck is cooking, put the squeezed orange juice, honey, orange zest, shallots and thyme. Once simmering, add the orange segments and continue to simmer until sticky. Take off the heat until needed.
7. Remove the duck from the oven and glaze some of the sauce over the skin. Place back in the oven for 2 minutes to crisp up more. Take out of the oven and allow the duck breasts to rest.
8. Bring the sauce back up to heat and place the duck breasts on a plate - serve the sauce on top of the duck. Add rice, potatoes vegetables or anything else you would like to the plate to finish the dish off and enjoy! 

  For Now...

Just Julia