Duck Legs with Cherries
Duck legs are affordable and make a beautiful tasty winter warmer!
Combine with a dark red fruit – cherries are good, but other fruit like plums can also be used instead.
Ingredients
- Two duck legs
- A dozen fresh dark cherries or half a tin of cherries (drained)
- 1 teaspoon of demerera sugar
- 1 teaspoon of five-spice powder
- 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of star anise
- Half a stick of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of cornflour
Method
- Wash the duck legs and place in an ovenproof dish that is just big enough for them to fit.
- In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, add sugar, five-spice powder, soy sauce, olive oil, star anise and cinnamon stick and shake vigorously with lid on.
- Pour the mixture over the duck legs, cover with clingfilm and leave to marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours, or even overnight.
- Remove the stones from a dozen dark cherries. Alternatively, use half a tin of stoneless cherries (Tip: Omit the sugar from the marinade, since fruit is usually tinned in syrup.)
- Pre-heat the oven to 170C (Gas Mark 3).
- Remove the clingfilm from ovenproof dish and add the cherries to the duck. Put in the oven on the middle shelf and cook for about two and a half hours.
- Once cooked, remove the duck legs and the cherries from the dish and place on warmed plates.
- Sieve the cooking liquid into a small saucepan. Using a spoon, skin off most of the fat then bring to the boil, stirring continuously, and add a teaspoon of cornflour dissolved in a little cold water to thicken the sauce.
- Pour the thickened sauce over the duck legs.
Serving Tip
Serve with food to soak up the delicious sauce: rice, pasta, mashed potatoes or even crusty bread.
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