Name: Braised duck with grapes, duck-fat potatoes and watercress
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 100 min
Total time: 120 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 4 duck Marylands (about 1 kg), at room temperature; 6 banana shallots, peeled and halved; 3 each rosemary and thyme sprigs; 2 bay leaves; 1 head of garlic, halved horizontally; 1 kg kipfler potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 1cm-thick slices; 250 ml (1 cup) port; 125 ml (½ cup) red wine; 250 ml (1 cup) chicken stock; 80 gm (¼ cup) fig conserve; 2 tsp pink peppercorns; 500 gm red grapes, cut into clusters; Watercress salad; 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 1½ tbsp lemon juice; 1 tsp Dijon mustard; 1 tsp honey; 1 small garlic clove, crushed; 1 bunch watercress, leaves picked

Duck rewards a little patience, transforming into meltingly tender meat beneath deeply golden, crisp skin. Here, it’s braised with grapes, port and red wine until rich with sweet-savory flavour, while duck-fat potatoes soak up every last drop of the sauce. As Julia Child famously advised, never cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink.

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Ingredients

4 duck Marylands (about 1 kg), at room temperature

6 banana shallots, peeled and halved

3 each rosemary and thyme sprigs

2 bay leaves

1 head of garlic, halved horizontally

1 kg kipfler potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 1cm-thick slices

250 ml (1 cup) port

125 ml (½ cup) red wine

250 ml (1 cup) chicken stock

80 gm (¼ cup) fig conserve

2 tsp pink peppercorns

500 gm red grapes, cut into clusters

Watercress salad

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1½ tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp honey

1 small garlic clove, crushed

1 bunch watercress, leaves picked

Method

Preheat oven to 220°C fan-forced. Prick duck skin all over with a skewer. Season. Heat a large shallow casserole over medium-high heat. Add duck, skin-side down and cook until skin is golden (6-7 minutes). Remove from heat. Transfer duck to a plate. Drain fat into a large bowl and reserve for potatoes. Add shallots, herbs and garlic halves to casserole, place duck, skin-side up on top and transfer to the oven. Reduce temperature to 170°C fan-forced and roast for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, add potatoes to bowl with reserved duck fat, carefully toss to coat (duck fat will be hot) and season. Place on a large oven tray lined with baking paper; roast, turning occasionally, until golden and crisp (40-50 minutes).

While potatoes are cooking, place port and wine in a saucepan and bring to a simmer; reduce by half (6-8 minutes), then add stock, fig conserve and pink peppercorns, simmering until reduced slightly (4-5 minutes). Remove casserole from oven. Reduce oven to 150°C fan-forced. Pour sauce around duck and arrange grapes on top. Return casserole to oven; roast, uncovered, until duck is golden, tender and sauce has reduced slightly (45 minutes – 1 hour).

Transfer duck and grapes to plate and set aside to rest (15 minutes). Skim excess fat from pan juices, then return duck and grapes.

For watercress salad, whisk all ingredients except watercress in a large bowl until combined. Season, then add watercress and dress.

Serve braised duck with roast potatoes and dressed watercress on the side.

Recipe by Clare Maguire Chef and Home Economist

Clare is a classically trained chef. After working in some of London’s best restaurants, including Ottolenghi, and with several years of private cheffing in Europe under her belt, she moved into recipe writing and developing. After making the move to sunnier Sydney a few years ago, she regularly contributes to various publications and has worked on over 15 cookbooks. She loves exploring food markets wherever she goes and still heads to Europe for a few months each summer to private chef. She is passionate about cooking with fresh, vibrant and sustainable ingredients and takes inspiration for recipes from her travels. Clare is always up for a pastry crawl to find the best viennoiserie going.

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