Crispy Duck Leg with Lentils & Orange

• 4bone-in duck legs, about 250 g each (1 kg total)
• Fine salt, to taste
• 1 tspsmoked paprika
• 1 tspfive spice powder
• 200 gdried Puy lentils, rinsed
• 2garlic cloves, minced
• 400 mlchicken stock
• 1carrot, finely diced
• 1celery stick, finely diced
• 1small onion, finely diced
• 1 tbspred wine vinegar
• 1 tbspolive oil
• 1orange, zested and juiced
• 15 gflat-leaf parsley, chopped, 3 g reserved for finishing
• 250 gchestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 100 gbaby spinach, roughly shredded
• 1lemon, cut into wedges
• Black pepper, to taste

Method

1. 1Heat the oven to 180°C fan. Score the duck skin in a tight crosshatch; through the fat, not into the meat; so the fat has somewhere to escape. Mix the five spice and smoked paprika, rub it all over the legs, then season generously with salt and pepper. Salt now matters: it draws moisture out of the skin and is the difference between crisp and chewy.
2. 2Lay the duck legs skin-side down in a large cold ovenproof frying pan that holds all four legs without overlapping and set it over medium heat. Cold pan, cold duck; the fat renders slowly and the skin pulls away from the bone instead of seizing. Listen for a steady, lazy sizzle for about 10 minutes, until a pool of fat has gathered and the skin is deep gold. Flip for 2 minutes, then slide the pan into the oven.
3. 3Roast for 60–70 minutes until the skin is crisp, the meat pulls easily from the bone and the thickest part reaches 75°C for 30 seconds. Cook longer if needed. Rest for 5 minutes. Carefully pour the rendered fat into a heatproof container; cool and refrigerate if keeping for another use.
4. 4While the duck is in the oven, warm the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms with a good pinch of salt and cook for 8–9 minutes, stirring now and then, until everything is soft and the mushrooms have given up their liquid and started to colour. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant; no more.
5. 5Add the lentils and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook with the lid ajar for 25–30 minutes, or according to the lentil packet, until tender but holding their shape. Add hot water a little at a time if the pan dries before the lentils soften.
6. 6Stir the shredded spinach through the hot lentils; it'll collapse in seconds. Add the orange zest, the orange juice and the measured 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, then season with salt and pepper. Taste: you're chasing a bright, savoury hum where the orange lifts the earthiness of the lentils. Stir 12 g of the parsley through at the last moment so it stays green.
7. 7Spoon the lentils onto warm plates and sit a crispy duck leg on top. Scatter over the reserved 3 g parsley and serve with a lemon wedge on the side; a squeeze of lemon over the crackling skin cuts the richness and wakes the whole plate up.

Per serving

kcal

939

protein

59.8g

fibre

4.9g

carbs

42.6g

fat

60.4g