One of my favourite recipes from Simply Nigella.
Uncomplicated, satisfying and relaxing cooking.
Nigella says about this recipe …
“This is one of those leave ’em and love ’em meals. For all the ease of express-style food, there is a lot to be said for simply stashing something in the oven for an hour or two when stuck in too-tired-to-cook mode. True, one needs a little patience, which might make this more of a lazy weekend supper than the answer to your everyday exhaustion issues. You don’t need much alongside, perhaps a fennel salad dressed with a spritz or two of orange juice and a squeeze of lime, or some bitter green salad leaves.
This is resolutely not a dish for fat-phobes”.
Roast Duck Legs with Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 duck legs
- 2 baking potatoes or 500g / 1lb other maincrop potatoes
- 3 – 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- Maldon sea salt flakes
- freshly ground black pepper
Conversions
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/350°F. Get out a smallish roasting tin that can go on the stove, and sear the duck legs, skin-side down over medium heat, until the skin turns golden and gives out some oil. Keep an eye on the duck while you cut the potatoes into approx. 3cm / 1½-inch cubes. I don’t peel them.
- Turn the legs over, preferably using a thin spatula, and taking care to dislodge the legs without ripping the skin. If the legs are very stuck on, it means they haven’t crisped up enough yet.
- Arrange your potatoes around the duck legs, then let a few sprigs of thyme fall over the duck and potatoes, and sprinkle with salt and pepper, before putting into the oven.
- Cook for 2 hours, for optimal outcome, which is crisp-skinned and tender-fleshed duck and potatoes that are crunchy on the outside and divinely soaked through with duck fat on the inside, though both should be ready to eat after 1½ hours. I used to turn the potatoes over while cooking this, but have decided it is not necessary and, indeed, not desirable.
You may also like one of my other favourite recipes …
1
Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes
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Grandads Cookbook may reference or include sections of text and images reproduced courtesy of:
- Simply Nigella
- foodnetwork.co.uk