Duck with prunes, cinammon and honey

For the spice mix:

2 tsp coriander seeds

2 tsp cumin seed

6 green cardamom pods

1 tsp black mustard seed

For the duck casserole:

1 5lb duck cut into 8

3 medium onions

a 3cm lump of ginger (about 50g)

3 garlic cloves

2 small, hot chillies

2 x 400g cans of tomatoes

1 litre of light stock (water, at a push)

3 bay leaves

a stick of cinnamon

2 star anise flowers

250g ready-to-eat pitted prunes

a tbsp of honey

the juice of a lemon

To serve: couscous or quinoa

I've used couscous as the base, you could use barley, rice or quinoa.

Warm a little oil in a casserole and brown the duck in it, two or three pieces at a time. Drain them and set aside. Meanwhile, peel and roughly chop the onions and peel and finely slice the garlic. Pour off all but 2 tbsp of the fat in the pan then add the onions and garlic and cook over a moderate to low heat, stirring from time to time. As the onions cook, peel and cut the ginger into fine matchsticks then add to the pan. While the onions are softening, you can make the spice mix. Grind the black seeds inside the cardamon pods, the coriander and cumin seed and the mustard seed together in a pestle and mortar or spice mill until fine.

Once the onions have softened and are starting to turn pale gold add the spices and the fresh chillies. Pour in the tomatoes and their juice and the stock and bring to the boil. Add the bay leaves, the cinnamon stick, the star anise and half of the prunes. Season with salt and pepper. Tuck in the ...#8594;...#8592; duck pieces, turn down to a slow simmer and leave for 45 minutes.

Check the duck for tenderness. If it seems ready (it should be soft but not falling off the bone) then lift out each piece with kitchen tongues or a draining spoon and set aside. Spoon the oil from the surface of the sauce - there will be lots of it, but I really think it is better removed. Stir in the honey and the remaining prunes and check the seasoning with salt, pepper and the juice of the lemon.

Turn up the heat and boil rapidly till the sauce starts to thicken. Return the duck to the sauce and heat gently through before serving with the couscous or quinoa.



Serving Size: 8 servings of 1 piece of duck

Number of Servings: 8

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user JWOURMS.