Ingredients:

• 4 duck breast halves
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 4 teaspoons demerara sugar
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/4 cup creme de cassis liqueur
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 4 ounces raspberries (or any other tart fruit such as apples or pomegranate)

Directions:

Duck is a seductive and succulent—perfect for a romantic Valentine’s dinner.

To start, score the duck breasts through the skin and fat. On medium-high heat, fry the duck skin side down until the skin browns and fat runs out, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the duck from the pan and pour off most of the fat. Return breasts to pan and fry skin side up for another 10 minutes. Remove breasts from pan, and rest on a baking sheet. Mix the sea salt, cinnamon and brown sugar and sprinkle generously over the skin. Broil the duck breasts skin side up until the sugar begins to caramelize, about one minute. Be careful—under the broiler they can burn very quickly. Once they are golden brown, remove them from the oven and let them rest.

To make the sauce, pour most of the duck fat out of the frying pan. Mix together the red wine, cassis and cornstarch and pour the mixture into the pan. Simmer for three minutes, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Add the raspberries, and simmer for another minute until heated through.

To serve, slice the duck breasts thinly and pour a little sauce over the top.