Aleppan Roasted Duck Breast

The food in Aleppo is generally considered to be the finest in the Middle East and their most famous dish is kebab bil karaz (lamb meatballs in cherry sauce). This recipe is a take on that, but with duck breast. The robust, slightly gamey flavour lends itself beautifully to the sweet and sour flavours in the sauce.

1. Once you've got over the annoying part of removing the stones from the cherries the rest is very easy. Put the cherries into a saucepan with a cup or so of water, the cinnamon, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, freshly ground black pepper and one teaspoon of sugar (you can add the rest later if it is too sour). 

2. Bring to the boil, and then turn the heat down slightly and leave to simmer (fairly vigorously), stirring often, for about 20 minutes to half an hour or until it has thickened nicely and the cherries are starting to breakdown into the sauce(when they become soft, use the back of your wooden spoon to expedite this process).

3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. 

4. Score the duck skin about four times with a sharp knife and rub some salt and pepper in. 

5. Heat a frying pan on a medium high heat and then fry the duck breasts, skin down, for a few minutes until the fat has started to render down and the skin has turned a deep, golden brown. Note that because of the large fat content in duck you don't need to add any oil to the pan. 

6. Then turn them over and cook for about a minute more on the other side to seal the flavours in. 

7. Transfer the duck breasts into a roasting tin and pop them in the oven for between 10 to 15 minutes depending on how you like it cooked. 

8. While they are cooking, pour out some of the fat from the frying pan (but not all), add the pine nuts to the pan and fry until they are a golden brown. Add half to the cherry sauce. 

9. Once the duck is cooked to your liking, put onto a carving board and slice the breast into thin strips at a slight diagonal and place on a warm plate. 

10. Then add a generous serving of the cherry sauce, scatter over the remaining pine nuts, serve with warm home made flat bread (very easy) and there you have it, a twist on a Syrian classic for a more formal occasion.

This recipe was submitted by WILLIAM DOBSON to our summer recipe competition and was a RUNNER UP