A Surprisingly Simple Roasted Duck
with Caramelised Apples
When we first started HelloFresh we used to get all sorts of email from people saying that they were ‘scared’ of fish. Whether Steven Spielberg related or something to do with it welding to their frying pan, we soon knocked their phobia into touch with a few easy recipes. Next on our scary-food-hitlist is duck - far more simple than you might believe! Our tip here is to leave the duck out of the fridge for 30 mins before you cook it to have a perfect cooking time.
Ingredients
2
Duck Breasts
1
Red Chilli
2
Carrot
1
Cox's Apple
1.5
Echalion Shallot
1
Organic Lentils
1
Baby Spinach
2
Coriander
Utensils
Instructions
Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees and season the duck well with salt and pepper. Put 3 slices across the duck skin with a sharp knife and lay in a cold grill pan skin side down. Cook on a medium-low heat for about 8 mins or until the fat is crisp and golden. Transfer to a baking dish skin side up and cook for 10-15 mins on the top shelf.
Finely dice the red chilli (we used 1 tbsp for a warm little kick). Peel and very, very finely dice the carrot (5mm cubes if your skills allow!). Peel and de-core the apple before chopping into 1cm cubes. Peel and finely dice 1½ tbsp of shallot.
Melt 1 tbsp of butter (if you have some) in a non-stick frying pan on medium-low heat. Tip: If you don’t have any butter, use ½ tbsp of olive oil. Toss in the apple, 1 tsp of sugar (if you have it) and 3 tbsp of water and place a lid on the pan. Allow to cook for 10 mins until the apple has softened up. Tip: Remove the lid to thicken the apple sauce in the last few mins.
Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Gently fry the shallot, carrot and chilli for 5 mins. Drain and thoroughly rinse the lentils before adding to the pan. We promise this is the last pan you’ll use!
After one minute, turn the heat off from the lentils. Taste the lentils and add a little more salt and pepper to lift the flavour if needed. Cover with a lid and leave until it’s time to serve.
Once the duck is cooked, take it from the oven and leave it to rest for 3 mins. Tip: We like our duck slightly pink in the middle but you can cook it through if you like. Tip: Leaving meat to rest on a warm plate allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat, leaving every mouthful nice and juicy.
Pour any excess fat from the duck pan and place on high heat. Once hot, add all of the spinach and cook for around 90 seconds, until just wilted.
Stir 2 tbsp of finely chopped coriander through the puy lentils. Check the lentils for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve the duck on top with a healthy dollop of your caramelised apples. Serve with spinach and savour!
