Duck Breast à l'Orange

📝 Ingredients

• 2 duck breasts (about 400 g each)
• 3 unwaxed oranges (2 for the juice, 1 for the zest and segments)
• 2 tbsp honey (about 40 g)
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• ½ chicken stock cube + 150 ml hot water
• 1 tsp cornflour + 1 tbsp cold water
• 1 shallot (about 30 g)
• 800 g sweet potatoes (about 3)
• 15 g unsalted butter + 50 ml semi-skimmed milk
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Frying pan
• Ovenproof dish
• Saucepan
• Potato masher
• Whisk
• Very sharp knife

📖 Steps

1. Take the duck breasts out of the fridge 20 min before cooking and preheat the oven to 180 °C. Trim off any fat overhanging the meat with a knife, then score the skin in a diamond pattern every 1 cm, cutting through the fat without touching the meat, otherwise it dries out.
2. Meanwhile, peel the sweet potatoes, cut into large chunks and cook for 15 to 18 min in a pan of salted boiling water, until the tip of a knife slides in without resistance. Drain and keep warm in the covered pan.
3. Place the duck breasts skin-side down in a cold frying pan, then turn the heat to medium so the fat renders gently. Cook for 8 to 10 min, pouring the melted fat into a bowl every 2 to 3 min, until the skin is golden and crisp.
4. Turn the duck breasts over and sear the flesh side for 1 min, then place them skin-side up in a dish and roast for 6 to 8 min at 180 °C for pink meat. Then wrap them in foil and leave to rest for 5 min.
5. While they're in the oven, zest one orange and juice the other 2. Pour off the fat from the pan, keeping just 1 tsp, and sweat the finely chopped shallot in it for 2 min over a medium heat. Add the honey and vinegar and let bubble for 1 min until the mixture caramelises slightly.
6. Pour in the orange juice, stock (half a cube dissolved in the 150 ml hot water) and zest, then reduce for 6 to 8 min over a medium-high heat. Mix the cornflour with the cold water, whisk it in and cook for 1 min until the sauce coats the back of the spoon.
7. Mash the sweet potatoes with a potato masher, adding the butter and the milk warmed for 30 seconds in the microwave, then season with salt and pepper. Peel the zested orange with a knife, removing all the pith, and cut out the segments from between the membranes.
8. Slice the duck breasts diagonally into 1 cm slices and add their resting juices to the sauce. Serve immediately with the mash, spoon over the orange sauce and garnish with the orange segments.