Roast-then-grilled duck breast with pears.

Duck is one of those things that I’ve always been a little afraid to cook, to be honest.

Mainly because I’ve eaten it cooked so well in Chinese, French and South East Asian dishes that I felt that I should just leave it to the experts.

And then, in the spirit of improvised food (which is, after all, what we’re all about here on the Essex Road Recipe blog) I saw 2 juicy duck breasts in James Elliott, and some very ripe conference pears in the Market Garden, and I did this very simple thing…

Ingredients:

(Serves 2)

2 duck breasts

1 pear

salt and pepper.

What to do (roughly speaking)

Pre-heat the oven to 220C/440F/Gas mark 7

Place the 2 duck breasts skin side down on cooking foil.

Sprinkle with salt and ground black pepper.

Slice the pear into strips and place the pear strips on top of the duck breasts

Wrap the foil loosely around the duck and pear, and place on a roasting dish in a hot oven for 25 minutes

Remove from the oven, open up the foil parcel and pour off the duck fat/juices.

(I’ve kept the duck fat, and I’ll let you know when I find a good use for it.)

Place the duck breasts on top of the pear slices with the fatty, skin side on top.

Grill under a hot grill for 5 – 7 minutes until the skin is brown and slightly crispy.

 

Serve immediately with green veg.

 

 

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