Can there really be a healthy Duck a l’Orange?

French cooking is often associated with feasting.  Dishes are laden with butter, oil, wine, heavy creams…on the face if it doesn’t sound like a healthy way of eating.  But of course healthy eating is all about balance and moderation and so no whole foods should ever be permanently off the menu.

Eaten without the skin, duck breasts are as lean as white meat chicken or turkey. They also contain more iron per serving than most other poultry and even some cuts of beef.

If you want to avoid the extra fat, just remove the skin before serving. The fat is in the skin, not in the duck meat.

By the way, here’s something counterintuitive but true — duck fat has properties similar to olive oil, with a good combination of poly- and monounsaturated fats. Duck contains some saturated fat as well, so you don’t want to go duck fat wild.

There’s also the ease. Duck breasts are as easy to cook as steak and can be prepared in just 15 to 20 minutes.

This dish has been given a Conscious Cooking clean up so making it a great balance between indulgence and healthy eating. The result is a healthy Duck a l’Orange.

• 4 duck breasts

• 2 oranges (extra to garnish)

• 50 ml red wine

• 100 ml orange juice

• 100 ml chicken stock

• 4 star anise

• 1 tbsp honey

• 2 tbps sherry vinegar

• 1 tsp black pepper