Taste Magazine
Login/Register
Menu
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Starters
    • Mains
    • Desserts
    • Drinks
    • View all
  • Ingredients
    • Apples
    • Cabbage
    • Cheese
    • Citrus
    • Mushrooms
    • Pork
    • Potatoes
    • Root vegetables
    • View all
  • Dishes
    • Curry
    • Braai
    • Slow roasts
    • Soup
    • Pasta
    • Plant-based
    • Warm puddings
    • View all
  • Occasions
    • Birthdays
    • Ramadan
    • Eid
    • Easter
    • Pesach
    • Diwali
    • Hanukkah
    • Christmas
    • New Year’s Eve
  • Popular
    • South African
    • Air fryer
    • Braai
    • Five-ingredients or less
    • 30 minutes or less
    • Great Value
  • Win
    • Competitions
    • Competition Winners
  • Culture
    • Articles
    • How To
    • Columns
    • Glossary
  • WList™ great value hub
  • Login
  • WCellar
  • Contact Us
Editor’s picks
Easy, butter-roasted tomato-and-sausage spaghetti
Great value

Easy, butter-roasted tomato-and-sausage spaghetti

1 hour
Sweetcorn tamarind soup
Corn recipes

Sweetcorn tamarind soup

20 minutes
Pork cacciatore
Italian recipes

Pork cacciatore

50 minutes
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • watercress
Artichoke and fresh pear salad

Artichoke and fresh pear salad

Risotto recipes

Pea-and-mint risotto with goat’s cheese and watercress

Baked ostrich meatballs
Ostrich recipes

Baked ostrich meatballs

30 minutes
Melon, Cremezola and Parma ham salad

Melon, Cremezola and Parma ham salad

Tuna sashimi with ginger-soy dressing

Tuna sashimi with ginger-soy dressing

Chickpea falafels with roast-chilli vinaigrette
Chickpea recipes

Chickpea falafels with roast-chilli vinaigrette

Focaccia with herb salad and torn coppa

Focaccia with herb salad and torn coppa

10 minutes
Watercress pesto pasta with fresh buffalo mozzarella
Cheese recipes

Watercress pesto pasta with fresh buffalo mozzarella

10 minutes
Baked potato with mustard and watercress butter

Baked potato with mustard and watercress butter

1 hour
Avocado, bacon and watercress salad with horseradish dressing
Avocado recipes

Avocado, bacon and watercress salad with horseradish dressing

5 minutes
Watercress and olive omelette
Omelette recipes

Watercress and olive omelette

10 minutes
Roast asparagus and duck breasts with lemon sauce
Duck recipes

Roast asparagus and duck breasts with lemon sauce

20 minutes
Load more
  • Taste Magazine
  • shop online at woolworths. Shop Now
© 2025 Woolworths holdings limited. All rights strictly reserved.
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Media24
Please login or register to favourite a recipe.
Login/Register

Roast asparagus and duck breasts with lemon sauce

By Phillippa Cheifitz
4
Easy
15 minutes
20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 duck breasts (about 200 g each)
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Olive oil
  • 200-300 g asparagus tips, trimmed
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • A few sprigs thyme
  • Watercress, to garnish

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Pour boiling water over the duck and pat dry. Using a sharp knife, score the skin of the duck, then season with salt. Place in a pan over a low heat and cook until the fat runs and the skin is crisp and brown.
Season the meaty side of the breast with pepper, then remove from the pan and place, skin side up, in an oiled roasting pan. Pour boiling water over the asparagus, then drain.
Arrange the asparagus around the duck. Pour over the chicken stock and lemon juice, tuck in some thyme sprigs and roast for 10 minutes, or until the duck is just cooked but still pink and moist, and the asparagus is tendercrisp.
Spoon over the pan juices when serving and garnish liberally with watercress.

Cook’s note:
Serve potatoes on the side – steamed or, all the better, pan-fried in duck fat.

Per serving:
1318.8 kJ, 31.8 g protein, 19.2 g fat, 3 g carbs

TASTE’s take:
Duck is a delicious alternative to chicken. Here the lemon sauce cuts the richness of the duck and the asparagus adds freshness.