Roast Duck for Luck and Best Wishes for 2011

Happy New Year! Last week, I looked at traditional New Year food in Scottish steak and sausage pie and food which is believed to bring luck for a New Year, in pork, black eyed peas and cabbage. I decided to finish this topic with the simply poetic - as well as extremely delicious - roast duck for luck. As promised previously, I will also look at the end of this post at New Year resolutions and how we can make them effective in relation to food and to healthier eating.

There is no need to buy a whole duck when you wish to have duck on the menu. Duck breasts, crowns and legs can be bought separately and this is especially useful when cooking for smaller parties. In this instance, cooking only for myself, I purchased two duck legs and used one in this recipe, while with the other I made a delicious Duck, Celery and Chestnut Soup.

Roast Duck for One Ingredients

1 duck leg and thigh (skin on)
2 medium potatoes
1/2 head of broccoli
Little sunflower oil
Salt and black pepper

Method

Put your oven on to preheat to 375F/190C/Gas mark 5. Use a little bit of sunflower oil to oil the centre of a baking tray and place the duck leg and thigh on the oiled section, skin side up. Season with salt and pepper and put the tray in to the oven for forty-five minutes.

When the duck is in the oven, peel the potatoes and chop them in to bite sized pieces. Place them in to a pot of lightly salted cold water and on to a high heat. When the water boils, reduce the heat and simmer for twenty-five minutes. Drain and return them to the pot with more cold water to cool.

When the duck has been roasting for forty-five minutes, remove it from the oven to a heated plate and cover it with foil to rest, while you put the finishing touches to the potatoes and cook the broccoli.

The potatoes should be drained before being carefully dried in a clean tea towel. They should be added to the hot tray of duck fat, stirred around gently to coat them evenly and put in to the oven for fifteen minutes. The broccoli should be broken in to florets and boiled in salted water for eight to ten minutes.

New Year's Resolutions, Food and Healthy Eating

Tens of millions of people, every year, make New Year's resolutions with the very best of intentions, only for the idea to fall by the wayside within days. There are many reasons why New Year's resolutions fail but the bottom line is that most often they are made without being given due consideration of what is involved and what actions/sacrifices will be required.

If you have made or are yet considering a New Year resolution for 2011 to eat in a more healthy fashion, I have resolved to use this blog to help you out. Throughout the year, on a regular basis, I will include here specific healthier eating tips and advice, as well as the recipes which incorporate many of these techniques. I hope that you will come back frequently to check this information and that you will find it both useful and beneficial in the long term.