Duck Casserole

Winter calls for hearty home cooked meals! We love Nigel Slater’s duck casserole, but with an added dollop of Duerr’s marmalade – why not try it for yourself. Full recipe is below. Enjoy!

A casserole of duck with turnips and orange

This is not the classic duck with orange sauce, but a mildly spiced casserole. The orange should not dominate, and the flavour can be tweaked to your taste at the end with lemon juice or, better still, a bitter Seville orange. Serves 3.

groundnut or vegetable oil
a large duck cut into 6
250g smoked bacon
2 medium to large onions
4 smallish turnips
a 3cm lump of ginger (about 50g)
1 litre of light stock (water at a push)
the juice of 2 large sweet oranges
3 bay leaves
a stick of cinnamon
2 star anise flowers
2-3 tbsp of Duerr’s marmalade
the juice of a lemon or Seville orange

To serve:
rice, couscous, cracked wheat or quinoa

Warm a little oil in a heavy-based casserole and lightly brown the pieces of duck in it, two or three pieces at a time. Drain them and set aside on kitchen paper. Cut the bacon into thick strips and add to the pan, letting them crisp lightly in the fat. Remove them and add to the duck. Meanwhile, peel and roughly chop the onions.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat in the pan, then add the onions and cook over a moderate to low heat, stirring occasionally. As the onions cook, peel and roughly chop the turnips and add them. Cut the ginger into fine matchsticks, then add to the pan.

Once the onions have well and truly softened and are starting to turn pale gold, add stock and orange juice, the bay leaves, cinnamon stick and the star anise, a generous grinding of salt and some black pepper. Return the duck pieces to the pan, turn down to a slow simmer and leave for 45 minutes.

Check the duck for tenderness. It should be soft, but far from falling off the bone. Put the pan to one side and let it cool (overnight if possible). Scoop off as much fat as you can and discard it.

Bring the pan back up to simmering point. Stir in the marmalade, then correct the seasoning with salt, pepper and the juice of the lemon (or bitter orange if you have one). The flavours should be warm, sweetly spiced and with the gentlest hint of marmalade.