Duck marries so perfectly with fruit and this sumptuous casserole can be cooked ahead of time for an easy dinner on the day.

Recipes Rosa Matto | Styling Natalie Homan | Photographs Brendan Homan

Duck with quince, green olives & orange zest
serves 6

duck and marinade
6 duck marylands, halved at joint
300ml dry white wine
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 orange (zest and juice)
6 flat-leaf parsley stems
2 fresh bay leaves
3 cloves garlic, crushed
12 juniper berries, crushed
2 stems rosemary

to cook
1 onion, cut into slices
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
500ml duck or chicken stock
3 quinces, peeled, cored and cut into 6 pieces each (keep in lemon water until needed)
12 green olives, pitted
1 Moroccan salted lemon, peel only, chopped
2 tbsp quince jelly or jam
1-2 tbsp red wine vinegar
small handful flat parsley leaves, roughly chopped

Combine duck in a bowl with marinade ingredients, season generously and stand for at least 30 minutes, or even overnight.

Preheat oven to 190C. Remove duck from marinade and season. Heat a cast-iron casserole until very hot, without oil and cook duck for 2 minutes on each side or until brown and fat has been released, then transfer to a bowl.

Drain fat from pan, add olive oil and cook onion gently until soft. Return duck to casserole, add marinade liquid and stock, stir and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and add drained quince and cook covered for 1 hour. Add olives and lemon and cook for another 30 minutes or until duck is very tender and quince is soft and ruby coloured. Swirl in the quince jelly. Add the vinegar to balance the flavours. Taste for seasoning and garnish with parsley.

Get ahead: The duck can be cooked up to two days before, but make sure the meat is well covered with sauce. Don’t add the vinegar until the last gentle reheating and garnish at the last minute.

This recipe first appeared in the June 2022 issue of SALIFE magazine.