Maggie’s tender slow roasted duck with apple, prune and prosciutto stuffing

SERVES 4-6 PREP AND COOK TIME 3 HOURS 30 MINUTES

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

100g duck or chicken livers, cleaned 100ml extra virgin olive oil

2 medium (400g) brown onions, chopped 1 orange, rind finely grated and juiced

⅓ cup finely chopped parsley 2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary 1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme

⅓ cup (60g) pitted prunes, chopped

1 ½ cups (110g) coarse stale breadcrumbs, toasted

65g prosciutto, chopped

2 tablespoon pistachios

2.1kg fresh duck, rinsed, dried 1 tablespoon sea salt flakes

1 Preheat the oven to 170°C (150°C fan-forced).

2 Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the livers and seal until golden brown on the outside but still very pink in the middle. Remove the pan from the heat; transfer the livers to a large bowl and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Then when cool, cut them into large pieces and return to the bowl.

3 Add 80ml of the olive oil to the same pan over a medium heat; add the onions and cook for 5 minutes or until golden. Deglaze with the orange juice then remove from the heat. Add the cooked onions in the bowl with the livers along with the rind, herbs (reserving 1 tablespoon of rosemary), prunes, breadcrumbs, prosciutto and pistachios. Season to taste; mix well.

4 Fill the cavity of the duck with the stuffing, then place onto a trivet in a roasting tray. Prick the duck skin all over, then rub with the remaining 1 tablespoon of rosemary, sea salt and remaining oil.

5 Roast the duck, uncovered, for 1 hour, then reduce the oven temperature to 140°C (120°C fan-forced). Roast for another 90 minutes to 2 hours – the meat should be soft to touch.

6 Remove the pan from the oven; drain the pan juices into a heatproof jug and allow to stand for 15 minutes so the fat separates from the juice. Skim off fat and use to roast vegetables at a later time.

7 Meanwhile, allow the duck to rest, covered, on a warmed platter breastside down for 20 minutes before carving and serving with the stuffing and pan juices.

Not suitable to freeze or microwave.