Recipe #5 - Duck with Sweet Potatoes & Spicy Orange Sauce

This is the main course from my final cooking exam, I found it at Adlib Eaterie - The Definitive Guide To Restaurants In Ireland. It's from the Wineport Lodge in Glasson, Co. Westmeath, Ireland. Our instructor told me twice how much he loved the sweet potatoes, he liked them so much he didn't even tell me ways to improve them. The only change I made was to use a royale (or custard) with the potatoes instead of just the cream called for in the recipe - I needed to cut the potatoes and make them stand up for presentation marks. The sauce is to die for, lick the plate yummy too. //mm mmm// Thank you chef Feargal O'Donnell!

Pan Seared Fillet of Duckling
with spicy orange balsamic jus & sweet potatoes dauphinoise

4 Duck Breasts
16oz sweet potatoes
3 cloves garlic - finely chopped
3oz smoked bacon (cooked & diced)
1pt cream
2 whole eggs
salt & pepper
1 orange
juice of 2 oranges
1 clove star anise
1/2pt water
4oz sugar
1/2oz sesame seeds
pinch of chili flakes
4tblsp balsamic vinegar
1tblsp sesame oil

Instructions:

Trim off excess fat and season duck breasts. Sear on a very hot pan on both sides until golden brown. Place on a roasting tray in a medium oven (180C) for 20 minutes.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into slices 1/4" thick. Build into layers in an oven-proof dish with garlic & bacon in between. Mix cream and eggs, cover potatoes and bake for 25 minutes.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan boil the sugar, water and orange juice. When reduced by half, add the remainder of the sauce ingredients. Reduce until the sauce is of a thick consistency then strain into a clean saucepan. At this stage the potatoes should be brown & bubbly, and the duck crispy on the outside and pink in the middle.