Duck & Quince Tagine

• 4 duck leg quarters, or 4 whole wild ducks
• 1 tsp each ground ginger, cinnamon and ground cumin
• salt and ground black pepper
• 1 large quince, washed, cored and sliced in thin wedges
• 1 large brown onion, halved and cut into thin wedges
• ¼ cup (30g) finely chopped fresh ginger
• 2 cups water
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 cup white wine, eg riesling
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 tbsp wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 200°C. If using farmed ducks prick skin all over to allow fat to escape. Rub duck all over with combined spices, season with salt and pepper. Place duck on a rack in a roasting dish. Roast at 200°C for 1 hour. 

While duck roasts, place sliced quince, onion, ginger, sugar and water in a pot. Cover and simmer over lowest heat for 1 hour.

Pour the cooked quince and onion mixture into the base of a casserole dish large enough to fit the duck in a single layer. Mix wine, stock and vinegar and pour over duck. Cover and bake at 200°C for a further hour or until duck is very tender.

Cooks notes:

If quinces are unavailable prepare this dish using a can of guavas, sliced in their juices with a firm pear, cut in thin wedges.

If making this dish with wild ducks which have no fat, hot roast only for 30 minutes then bake with onions and quince for about 3 hours, or until tender. Serve with parsnip mash or Turkish pilaf with apricot and nuts.