Braised Duck with Orange Zest and Almonds

Braised Duck with Orange Zest and Almonds
A Mario Batali recipe

I found this recipe in Mario Batali's "Simple Italian Food", a cookbook I received for Christmas. The recipe was surprisingly very easy, and really delicious! Mario's recipe serves 4, so I halved all of the ingredients to accommodate my party of 2.

Ingredients:
1 Duck Breast (I bought a 1.3 lbs breast to serve 2, Mario's recipe called for duck legs but unfortunately our local Food Emporium only had breasts but it worked out great and was probably easier to eat!)
6 tablespoons Olive Oil
Flour
1 medium Spanish Onion, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 medium Leek, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 medium Carrot, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup Grand Marnier (or any other orange liqueur you are able to find, we used Solara which was half the price)
1/2 cup Chicken Stock
1/2 cup dry White Wine
1/4 cup blanched Almonds
Salt
Freshly ground Pepper

Method:

Step one: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Step two: Season duck breast with salt and freshly ground Pepper, dredge with flour. In a large casserole heat olive oil until smoking. Place (carefully) duck breast in the oil and brown for 8 minutes on each side. Remove duck breast.

Step three: Place the spanish onions, leek and carrot in the casserole and heat for 8 minutes until brown and softened. 

Step four: Add the chicken stock, Grand Marnier (or substitute), dry white wine, orange zest and blanched almonds (see below for how to 'blanch' almonds) and bring to a boil. Place duck breast back in casserole, cover and place in oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours.

Step five: Transfer duck breast to platter. Season the cooking liquid with salt and pepper and pour over duck. Serve! 

Enjoy!

Blanching Almonds:

Step one: Place almonds in bowl.
Step two: Pour boiling water to barely cover almonds.
Step three: Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain again.
Step four: Pat dry and slip the skins off.