Roast duck, potatoes & pumpkin

Every time someone mentions roasted duck I think of Christmas or Easter or any other occasion my family gets together and hangs out. I have to admit, there is rarely an occasion that we all really get together, because my brother has a family of his own and my sister has her family. When we get together there is always a lot of food, either duck roast, or pork roast or even both. The point is, not only do I love my family gatherings I love roasted duck!

A few days ago I was reading an interesting article about the history of roasted Beijing duck. It’s interesting how a dish like roasted duck, which my grandma used to make almost every weekend, was actually prepared hundreds and hundreds of years ago in China.

First mention of a roasted duck dates bake to the Complete Recipes for Dishes and Beverages from 13 century where Yuan Dynasty imperial dishes were listed. It finally got onto a restaurant menu in the 16 century in Beijing. From China it got to Europe and the rest is history.

Of course my recipe is not for a Beijing duck, which I have to make as soon as possible since I only tried it in a restaurant, but this is a recipe I got by experimenting with flavours every time I got to prepare roasted duck. It has some elements of how my grandma used to make it and a bit of my own ideas.. the main thing is that I love it, everybody loved it so far, so I hope you’ll try the recipe and like it as much as I do.

Enjoy & happy cooking!

Preparation: 35 min

Cook time: 2 h 30 min

Servings: 4 – 6

Ingredients

1 x 2 kg duck
1 kg baby potatoes, sliced
800 g butternut squash, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
4 tbsp duck fat
3 tbsp red paprika
2 tsp ginger, grated
3 tsp garlic powder
4 tbsp orange juice
100 ml chicken stock
salt & pepper to taste

How to

Preheat the oven to 180° C.
Clean the duck and dry it. Make three cuts on the duck’s breast and season with salt, pepper, red paprika, garlic powder and grated ginger. Sprinkle some vegetable oil over it and place it in a preheated oven. Bake for 1 hour.
Meanwhile season the sliced potatoes, squash and carrots in a large bowl with salt and some red paprika.
Place chicken stock and orange juice in a small sauce pan and cook over medium heat. Let it simmer until you get a thick sauce for aprox. 10 min.
After the duck has been in the oven for 1 h, add sliced vegetables around it and pour some sauce over it. Reduce the heat of the oven to 160° C and bake for another 1 h and a half. Enjoy roasted duck with potatoes and pumpkin with orange sauce and a big bowl of fresh lettuce salad.