poultry
serves 4
1 duck, weighing 1.6-1.8kg /
31/2-4lb
450ml / 3/4 pint chicken stock
5ml / 1tsp tomato purée
a fresh bouquet garni of parsley, thyme and and a bay leaf
salt and freshly ground pepper
170g / 6oz stoned green olives ( large )
10ml / 2tsp potato or corn flour ( cornstarch )
60ml / 2floz Madeira or dry sherry
Pre-heat the oven to 2300c / 4500f / Gas
mark 8.
Prick the skin of the bird here and there so that the fat can escape during
cooking. Put the bird into a flameproof casserole and roast for about
15 minutes, turning the bird so that it browns evenly. Pour off the
fat from the pan. Add the stock, tomato purée, bouquet garni
and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper to the casserole. Cover,
and continue roasting the bird for 11/4 hours. Test
to see if it is tender by piercing the thickest part of the thigh with a
skewer.
Meanwhile, blanch the olives in a large pan of unsalted boiling water
for 5 minutes. Drain them.
Take the duck out of the casserole and carve it into joints. put
them on a heated serving dish and keep hot. Spoon off most of the fat
from the sauce in the casserole, add the olives. Put the casserole
over a gentle heat. Mix the potato flour or cornflour ( cornstarch
) with the Madeira or sherry and stir into the sauce.
Discard the bouquet garni, and simmer the sauce gently, stirring constantly,
until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Taste for seasoning,
then pour the sauce over the duck.