Cheat’s duck à l’orange

Preheat the oven to 200ºC, gas mark 6. Empty the duck and liquor into an ovenproof dish and cover with foil; roast for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery and thyme, season and fry for 10 minutes until softened and lightly coloured. Stir in the tomato purée, then after 1 minute stir in the flour. Stir together to let the flour coat all the vegetables and turn a little golden, then add the white wine. Bring to the boil, then simmer until reduced by ½. Add the chicken stock, sugar, cider vinegar and 200ml Seville orange juice. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes until thickened and rich. Add a little more orange juice or water if too thick.

When the duck is cooked, pour the juices from the bottom of the dish into a jug. Spoon off the fat from the top, then add the juices to the orange sauce, using a balloon whisk to emulsify. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a different pan, then set over a very low heat to keep warm. Stir in the marmalade and taste; season if needed.

To serve, heat the grill to high and finish the duck under the grill until crisp and golden on top (about 5 minutes). Divide the duck between 2 plates with the orange sauce. Some steamed greens make a particularly good accompaniment.