Ingredients

  • 2 Gressingham duck legs
  • 500g of waxy potatoes such as maris piper, peeled and cubed
  • 8 small shallots
  • 1 large bunch of curly kale, stalk removed and roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp soft brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

For the sauce

  • 350ml of port
  • 2 teaspoons of white sugar
  • 1 punnet of blackberries
  • 400ml of chicken stock or water
  • 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
  • 50g butter
  • 1 teaspoon of corn flour (mixed with a little water to form a paste)
  • 1 x star anise

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 180°C, Fan 160°C, Gas Mark 4.
  2. Pat the skin of the duck leg with a kitchen towel to remove excess moisture and prick the skin of the leg all over. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Place on a wire rack on a roasting tray and cook in the middle of the oven for 90 minutes.
  4. While the duck is cooking place the boil the potatoes in water for 3 minutes, scoop out and leave to cool on a paper lined tray.
  5. Put the kale into the boiling water for 2 minutes to soften and scoop out, leave to cool .
  6. Put the pan back on to heat and place the shallots in to simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and leave to cool until they can be handled. Peel away the skins and place into a shallow non stick pan, sprinkle with soft brown sugar, balsamic vinegar and a drizzle of rapeseed oil. Put on a low heat and cook until the sugar has melted and the shallots have turned brown and sticky.
  7. Now prepare the sauce by pouring the port into a sauce pan, heat until the liquid is reduced by half (this will take 10 - 15 minutes).
  8. Add in the stock or water, the blackberries, vinegar, star anise, sugar and reduce by 2/3 (this will take around 15 minutes).
  9. Pass through a sieve into another pan, stir in the corn flour, season and simmer for a few minutes until the mixture thickens. Mix in the butter.
  10. When the duck legs are nearly ready to serve heat 4-5 tbsp of rapeseed oil in a large non stick pan and start to saute your cubed potatoes until they are golden. Stir in the kale and shallots and cook for another 2 minutes.
  11. Remove the duck from the oven and arrange on plates with the kale, shallots and potatoes. Drizzle the sauce over the top. Enjoy.