Name: Duck breast with orange sauce, broccoli and croquettes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Belgian / European
Ingredients: 2 large duck breasts (approximately 800–900 g in total); pepper (to taste); salt (to taste); 250 ml orange juice (freshly squeezed); 1 extra orange (for the segments and finely grated zest of ½ orange); 1 shallot (finely chopped); 150 ml poultry stock; 1 tbsp red wine vinegar; 1-2 tsp honey (to taste); 20 g cold butter (cubed); pepper (to taste); salt (to taste, optional); 1 tsp cornflour (mixed with 1 tbsp cold water until smooth, optional); 800 g broccoli; 100-150 ml vegetable stock (depending on the pan); pepper (to taste); salt (to taste); nutmeg (freshly grated, a few gratings); 600-800 g croquettes

Method

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Method

Prepare the ingredients. Divide the broccoli into florets. Peel the stalk and cut it into small pieces. Finely chop the shallot. Grate the zest from half a washed orange without including the white pith. Peel that orange with a knife and cut the segments out from between the membranes. Squeeze enough other oranges to make 250 ml of juice.

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Prepare the duck breasts. Pat them dry. Score the skin in a diamond pattern without cutting into the meat. Season with salt and pepper.
Cook the skin side. Place the duck breasts skin-side down in a cold, dry frying pan. Set over a medium-low heat and cook for approximately 10–15 minutes, until the skin is golden brown and crisp. Pour off excess fat during cooking. Reserve one tablespoon for the sauce.

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Time range: choose the first timer to check progress or the last for the end of the stated time.
Cook the flesh side and leave to rest. Turn the breasts over and cook for approximately another 4–6 minutes. Adjust the cooking time to suit their thickness and your preferred doneness. Place them on a warm plate and leave to rest for 8–10 minutes, loosely covered with aluminium foil.

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Make the orange sauce. Keep one tablespoon of duck fat in the pan. Gently cook the shallot over a low heat for 2–3 minutes. Add the red wine vinegar and stir to loosen the browned bits. Add the orange juice, poultry stock, orange zest and one teaspoon of honey. Simmer gently for 8–12 minutes to reduce.

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Meanwhile, braise the broccoli. Put the broccoli in a wide frying pan with a shallow layer of vegetable stock. Cover and cook gently over a medium-low heat for 5–8 minutes. Check after 5 minutes and add a splash of stock if needed. At the end, leave any excess liquid to evaporate with the lid off. Season with pepper and a few gratings of nutmeg. Taste before adding salt.

Image · Jo Huys

Time range: choose the first timer to check progress or the last for the end of the stated time.
Cook the croquettes according to your own recipe or the instructions on the packaging. Time the start according to the cooking time needed, so they are ready just before serving.
Finish the sauce. Add the resting juices from the meat. Taste and season with pepper, salt if needed and a little extra honey if necessary. If the sauce is too thin, add the cornflour mixture a little at a time and bring briefly to the boil. Add the orange segments and warm them through briefly. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cold butter. Do not let it boil again.
Serve. Slice the duck breast across the grain. Divide between warm plates with the broccoli and croquettes. Lift the broccoli onto the plates without any remaining braising liquid. Spoon the orange sauce beside the meat or over the cut side, so the skin stays crisp.