Maple-glazed duck with orange & watercress
Impress your guests with roasted duck legs in a sweet and sticky glaze of maple syrup, soy sauce and orange juice, paired with a punchy orange and watercress salad
For the glaze
- 5 tbsp soy sauce
- 5 tbsp maple syrup
- 3 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp orange juice
- 1 cinnamon stick
- large piece of gingerfinely grated
For the dressing
- 3 tbsp runny honey
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp orange juice
- 100ml chicken stock
- 2 tbsp extra virgin rapeseed oil
To serve
- 200g watercress
- 4 orangespeeled and segmented
Nutrition: Per serving
- kcal509
- fat21g
- saturates6g
- carbs27g
- sugars26g
- fibre1g
- protein51g
- salt2.4g
Method
step 1
Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Place the duck legs on a wire rack, skin-side up, with a tray underneath to catch the fat. Put in the oven and roast for 1 hr. Meanwhile, to make the glaze, pour the soy sauce, maple syrup, honey and juice into a saucepan and bring up to the boil. Add the cinnamon stick and ginger and simmer until the glaze is sticky, then leave to cool.
step 2
After 1 hr, turn the oven up to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Brush the glaze generously over the duck and continue to cook for 30 mins, brushing with glaze every 5 mins or so, until the duck is a deep mahogany with a caramelised crust. Remove from the oven and leave to rest.
step 3
While the duck is roasting, make the dressing by whisking together all the ingredients, except the oil, in a pan. Simmer until reduced by half, then whisk in the oil. If you like, you can char the orange segments. Lay them on a metal baking tray and caramelise them with a blowtorch (you only need to colour one side). Don’t blowtorch on parchment or a non-heat resistant plate.
step 4
To serve, tip the watercress and orange segments into a large bowl and toss in half the dressing. Divide the salad between the plates, place a crispy duck leg on top and drizzle with a little extra dressing.