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Slow-braised duck with couscous, cumin peaches and watercress

Maria Elia from Great Food Live
Buttery stone fruit coated with sugar and spices provides a sweet partner to duck legs gently cooked in fragrant spiced stock

Slow-braised duck with couscous, cumin peaches and watercress

Method

1. Place the onion, chilli, carrot, celery and stock in a large pan. Add the cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, saffron, star anise, garlic and honey. Bring to a simmer.

2. Add the duck legs to the stock. Cover with a circle of greaseproof paper (a cartouche), carefully pressing it down onto the surface of the liquid, then top with the lid. Simmer gently for approximately 1½ hours or until duck legs are tender and leave to cool.

3. Remove the duck legs from the pan and strain the cooking liquor through a sieve. Either skim the fat from the surface, or refrigerate the liquor overnight then remove hard fat that has settled on the surface.

4. Heat the cooking liquor until boiling. Ladle 350ml of the hot liquor into a jug to use for the couscous. Continue boiling the remaining liquor hard until it has reduced by half and thickened to a sauce.

5. Place the couscous in a large heatproof bowl. Add the butter and raisins, then pour the 350ml of cooking liquor you measured over the couscous. Cover the bowl immediately with cling film, and leave for 3 minutes. Remove the film and fluff up the grains with a fork. Add the pine nuts and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

6. Preheat the oven to 220C/gas 7.

7. To prepare the peaches, toss them with the sugar and both types of cumin. Place a frying pan over a high heat and when it is hot add the butter and peaches. Cook until the peaches are soft and coloured, shaking the pan occasionally.

8. Reheat the duck legs on a baking tray in the hot oven. Just before serving, place them under a hot grill to caramelise the skin.

9. To serve, place the couscous on serving plates and cover with the watercress. Top with the duck legs, peaches and sauce.

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Serves: 4

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 2 hrs 15 min

Ingredients

For the duck

1 Spanish onion, peeled and sliced
1 red chilli, halved
1 carrot, roughly chopped
2 sticks Celery, roughly chopped
2 litres chicken stock
2 cinnamon sticks
20 cardamom pods
10 saffron strands
4 Star anise
6 garlic cloves, halved
100ml clear honey
4 duck legs