A delicious dinner at Ann's place

Roast Duck with Sweet-Sour Sauce

Ruby’s recipe:

½ cup Golden Circle Sweet-Sour Sauce, 1 young duck, 1 tspn salt, dash pepper, 1 sliced onion, 1 large sliced carrot, 2 sliced stalks celery, 3 cups boiling water.

Prepare duck for roasting, rub with salt and sprinkle with pepper.

Place vegetables in roasting pan, lay duck on top and pour hot water into pan. Roast in moderately-hot oven (150° - 180° C) allowing about 25 minutes per 500 grams. When cooked remove duck to hot platter and keep hot. Strain liquid in pan, skim off any fat, add sweet-sour sauce, bring to boil and thicken slightly with 1 tblspn cornflour blended in 2 tblspns cold water. Cook 5 minutes. A tblspn brandy or soy sauce can be added to gravy if you wish. Carve duck and serve hot with the sauce.

Ann’s variation:

4 duck breasts, 1 carrot sliced, 1 stalk celery sliced, 1 red onion in chunks, 1 green capsicum cut in squares, 1 tblspn grated fresh ginger, 1 tblspn oil, ½ can Golden Circle pineapple rings and juice from can; 1 tblspn cornflour, 2 tblspn cider vinegar, 2 tblspn tomato sauce, 1 tsp soy sauce.

Sear duck breasts skin side down in hot pan, drain off fat (save for roast potatoes another day), turn and cook a minute on other side.  Put in oven to cook through, about 10 mins. For sauce, quickly stir fry carrot, celery, onion, ginger, pineapple and capsicum.  Mix cornflour with pineapple juice and other sauce ingredients, pour into pan with veg and cook until thickened. Serve with duck breasts, a green vegetable and steamed rice.

And for dessert . . .

Spiced Shortcake Slices

(Ruby’s recipe once again with added suggestions from Ann)

2 X 440g cans Golden Circle Crushed Pineapple, ¼ cup each cornflour and cold water (or use juice of half a lemon made up to ¼ cup with cold water), 3 cups self-raising flour, 1 tblsp cocoa, 1 tspn cinnamon, ½ tspn ground ginger, 185 gm butter, ½ cup icing sugar, 1 egg, ¼ cup milk.

Empty contents of cans into saucepan, bring to boiling point. Stir in cornflour mixed with water. Cook until thickened. Set aside to cool.

Sift flour, cocoa and spices. Cream butter, gradually beating in icing sugar. Beat in egg. Blend in half of flour mixture, add milk, then remaining flour. Mix to firm dough. Alternate method: process butter and icing sugar until creamy, add egg and process again.  Add 1 cup flour and all spices, process.  Add milk and process, finally add remaining flour and process until a dough. 

Roll two-thirds out to line shallow greased pan approx. 20 cm X 28 cm X 3 cm. Roll remainder to fit top of pan. Add pineapple filling to pan. Moisten edges of pastry and cover with top crust. Prick surface. Bake in moderate oven (190°C) 25 minutes or until pastry is crisp. Cool and slice.

To make handling pastry easier, roll out between plastic wrap. After rolling, chill the 1/3 piece for the top, still between the plastic, while you press the remaining 2/3 into the tin and add the filling.  Arrange the top piece on the pie, remove plastic, trim edges and prick with a fork.

Delicious with Ann's homemade fig ice cream.