At the end of this post there’s a a dish with duck breast, orange and pomegranate sauce and couscous. Before that Mrs J is going to talk about fat. If fat scares or bores you, feel free to scroll.

Mrs J loves fat. Too. She already wrote about how she loves carbs. And next year she’ll probably wax poetic about protein. Wait… she’s half way there already. Maybe she should just own the fact that she loves food.

But let’s get back to fat, for now. There are many people out there that are afraid of fat, for health and weight reasons. There are also people out there that deliberately eat enormous amounts of fat, for health and weight reasons. Mrs J doesn’t subscribe to either extreme. She figures fat is a great carrier for taste (and therefore important in cooking food you actually enjoy eating) and in its unprocessed state a natural and healthy substance that, in moderation, your body is well designed to deal with.

Many fat foods sit forlornly in supermarkets because their genius is misunderstood, while other fat foods get the “healthy” stamp and are flying off the shelves and onto hips, bums and artery walls all over the world. (Trust me, Daddy, it’s not a good idea to eat half a pound of nuts per day. Even if it is “good” fat.)

Mrs J does not aspire to be the one that changes world opinion about fat in general. She just encourages you to enjoy this recipe made with duck breast as much as you would enjoy a recipe made with good beef, salmon or olives. It’s not fat free, but it’s really not “bad” or too much fat. Just cut off any remaining fat after the duck has been cooked. The meat itself isn’t that fatty. And still delish!

Start by preheating the oven to 125°C.

Score the skin of your duck breasts to help release the fat when cooking. Rub the duck with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Place the duck breasts, skin side down, in the skillet. Let cook for 4 minutes, until the fat side is crisp and browned. Turn the breasts over and cook for 2 more minutes to sear the meat.

Transfer your breasts to an oven proof dish and pop into your oven. Leave all the fat released in the skillet behind. Roast for 15-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the duck. Remove from the oven and let rest at least 10 minutes, covered with aluminum foil. (If you’re wondering if you really need to rest the meat, here’s why.)

In a small saucepan, bring 2 dl of orange juice (preferably freshly squeezed) to a boil. When it has reduced by half, add a tablespoon of soy sauce, a tablespoon of sesame oil and a pinch of salt. Reduce by another third or until it’s syrupy (cheat with some corn flour if necessary).

Add the seeds of half a pomegranate and remove from heat.

To serve, cook some couscous and mix in a few pistachios, some chopped coriander and the remaining seeds from your pomegranate. Season with salt and pepper.

Slice duck diagonally in thinnish slices. Arrange with the couscous on plates. Spoon the sauce over the duck. Enjoy!