Orangina's 75th Anniversary. Ooh la la!

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During 2011 Orangina is celebrating it's 75th anniversary.  Remember my (almost) disastrous first trip to French shores when I was 11?  It wasn't all bad as I discovered Orangina in a big way. It seemed very European to be drinking the slightly pithy, slightly sparkling orange juice straight out of the bottle (we were told it was the only way to drink it).  We also brought a couple of those bulb-shaped bottles home as souvenirs too as no-one we knew had ever had Orangina before.  That was 28 years ago (yes, I'm showing my age now).

Orangina have teamed up with chef Jean Christophe Novelli to revitalise a classic recipe.  Duck à l'Orangina c'est magnifique and you can find out exactly how magnifique the collaboration is by visiting their Facebook page. 

Here's Jean Christophe Novelli cooking the recipe for you and the full recipe is below:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 duck
• 500ml Orangina
• 1 small bunch sage
• 1 small bunch rosemary
• 2 garlic cloves
• Sea salt
• Black pepper
• 6 medium onions cut in half
• Sugar/honey
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 star anise
• Small bunch thyme
• 2 star anise
• Little bit of vanilla seed
• Little bit of cardamom 

METHOD:

• Prepare some sea salt (the left over salt can be stored in a jar and used for roasts and roast potatoes to add instant flavour) in a food processor, chop ¾ of the sage and rosemary with the garlic, add two hand-fulls of salt and some black pepper
• Trim the excess fat from the inside of the bird, then rub the salt mixture over the skin and sprinkle a little salt on the inside of the duck as well
• Heat an ovenproof cast iron pan and dry fry the duck on all sides until golden brown
• Lift the bird from the pan and discard any excess fat
• Return the bird to the pan, add the onions, sprinkle with sugar/honey, add the star anise bay leaf, and thyme; shake the pan so that onions do not burn and add a little water/stock
• Place the bird on top of the onions and place in a preheated oven 230C /Gas mark 8 for 30 minutes
• Reduce the heat to 180C/Gas mark 4 and cook for a further hour (this time will need to be changed depending on the size of the duck); basting the duck regularly with its own juices. You might need to add a little stock or water if the juices are reducing too much
• To check if cooked, pierce the leg with a skewer, the duck will be ready when the juices coming out are clear- be sure not to overcook it
• In the meantime place the Orangina sauce, the spices and the bay leaves in a pan and reduce down to one third very slowly until syrupy in consistency
• When the bird is cooked, remove the duck and vegetables from the pan and skim off from any fat from the pan
• Return the duck to the tray and pour the reduced Orangina over it, place in a hot oven 230°C for 3 minutes, baste the duck again with the juices from the pan and return to the oven. Repeat the process a few times until the duck is glossy and shiny
• Remove from the oven and leave to stand for about 20 minutes before carving
• Serve with the retained vegetables and the sauce