Twice Cooked Duck with Orange

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Remove any loose fat and giblets from inside the duck. Rinse and dry the cavity. Cut the orange into wedges and place inside the duck with two sprigs of thyme and season well. Truss the duck then lightly prick the skin with a sharp knife.

Roughly chop the vegetables and put them in a roasting pan just large enough to hold the duck. Add 1 cup of water. Put the duck, breast side down, on the vegetables, place in the oven and roast for 1 hour. Turn the duck over and roast for 1 hour more. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.

Discard everything from the roasting dish. When the duck has cooled, cut down both sides of the backbone giving you two halves. Snip off the wingtips, pull out the wing bones and carefully lift out the ribcage bones. Cut each half in two through the natural join, giving you 4 pieces of duck. Reserve all the bones and trimmings for use in the sauce.

Orange Sauce: Finely dice the onion, carrot and celery. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the vegetables and salt and sauté until tender and golden. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Sprinkle over the flour and cook gently until a pale golden colour.

Add the stock and stir to ensure there are no lumps. Add the reserved bones and the juice of 1 orange and bring to the boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for 1 hour. Strain the sauce into a clean pot and add the liqueur. You can prepare the duck and sauce to this stage up to two days ahead.

To serve: Preheat the oven to 200°C. Put the duck on an oven tray, skin side up. Place in the oven and cook until the skin is crisp and the meat hot. Reheat the orange sauce. Peel the remaining orange with a knife and cut into fillets.

Place the duck on a serving platter, pour over the sauce and scatter over the orange fillets. Serve with a green vegetable and your favourite potato dish. Serves 4