Delia's Crisp Roast Duck with Confit of Sour Cherries

By Helen
Main ingredients:

• Duck legs
• Dried cherries
• Red wine
• Watercress
• Potatoes and parsnips
  

This is a recipe I'd been meaning to try for a few weeks but never managed the necessary preparation - soaking the cherries in wine for 24 hours and drying the duck legs to achieve the desired crispy skin. 

Thankfully both were a good use of time - the cherries were sweet, sharp, and juicily delicious once they had been simmered for an hour with a little sugar and balsamic vinegar, and the duck legs (salted and roasted for around an hour) were excellent.

The watercress garnish looked oddly ornamental in Delia's photo but provided a fresh and welcome alternative to cabbage, and would have been even better if there'd been any leftovers for sandwiches the next day. We ate this with roast potatoes, honeyed parsnips and garden peas, and thoroughly enjoyed the whole meal - definitely quicker and tastier than your average roast chicken, and not bad value at £2.75 a head. 

The only change I'd make would be increasing the volume of sauce, or reducing it a little less to make sure there was more to go around.

Best for...A rich (but not bank-breaking) Sunday lunch with plenty of wine
Taken from... Delia Smith - How to Cook: Book Two

Chris says... Very rich and tasty, the cherries were definitely worth the extra effort, but a right bugger to wash up!