Roast Duck Legs with Roasted Root Vegetables (4)

Ingredients

  • 4 duck legs
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil
  • 250ml water
  • 2 red onions, peeled and cut into wedges
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 5 cm length
  • 250g green beans, topped and tailed
  • 1 head garlic, cut in half
  • 2 raw beetroot, peeled and cut into wedges
  • 300g new potatoes, cleaned and cut in half lengthways.
  • A few sprigs of thyme
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / gas mark 4
  2. Place potatoes, carrots, red onions, garlic and beetroot into a deep-sided roasting dish.
  3. Season well, pour over the olive oil, mix together well and level out.
  4. Season the duck legs both sides and place on top of the vegetables. Scatter the thyme over the top.
  5. Add in the water, cover the whole tray with foil and place in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes.
  6. After an hour, remove the foil, adjust the oven temperature to 200c and cook for a further 15 mins.
  7. While the duck is cooking for the last 15 mins, place a small pan of water on to boil, add a teaspoon salt and when the pan is boiling add in the green beans. Cook for 4 mins, drain.
  8. Remove the roasting tray from the oven, add the beans to the roasting tray and your dish is now ready to serve. Place in the middle of the table and divide onto 4 plates or let everyone help themselves.

Feedback on first time (2022-06-11)

Green beans were replaced by mange tout in the first attempt, this worked well. The colours were good: purple beetroot, orange carrots and the green of the mange tout added at the end. The main issue was that everything was steamed rather than roasted. 250ml of water was too much. Use something closer to 50ml Duck was ok but it tastes better when roasted on it's own. Maybe try using the roasting tin that elevates the meat above the vegetables? Ignore the foil, and just keep an eye on the cooking, occasionally turning over the vegetables. Perhaps cook the roast potatoes separately?

References

Based on https://www.gressinghamduck.co.uk/recipes/roast-duck-legs-with-roasted-root-vegetables/