Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Step 2

Season duck breast liberally with sea salt and black pepper

Step 3

Place the duck breasts, fat side down, in a cold skillet to render off the fat over medium heat.

Step 4

Sear the duck breast for 8-10 minutes, trying not to move it until its time to turn it over.

Step 5

When the skin of the duck breast looks crispy and is a nice shade of dark golden brown drain off the duck fat from the pan and reserve for later use.

Step 6

Turn the duck breast over to sear on the other side for 4-6 minutes.

Step 7

Place the duck breast in a preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until the desired doneness has been reached.

Step 8

Remove from oven when the desired doneness has been reached and allow the cooked duck breast to rest for about 5 minutes before slicing.

Step 9

In the pan that you seared the duck breasts add back a tablespoon of the reserved duck fat.  Add in 1 tablespoon of flour to make a roux.

Step 10

Allow the roux to cook for 1-2 minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste.  The roux can get dark brown, as this will help the color of the pan gravy.

Step 11

Add chicken stock to the roux until and cook over low heat until the gravy has thickened slightly.  Don't allow it to thicken completely as you will want to reheat the gravy right before you serve the duck.

Step 12

Taste the pan gravy and season as needed

Step 13

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into chunky pieces that are still somewhat bite size.

Step 14

peel pearl onions and add to bowl with sweet potato chunks

Step 15

Coat sweet potatoes and onions with a little olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Step 16

Place vegetables on a foil-lined sheet pan and roast at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  (if you start this about the same time as you start searing the duck they should be done just at the right time)

Step 17

Remove vegetables from oven, place in mixing bowl or saute pan. Add spinach and maple syrup.  Re-season with sea salt and black pepper if desired. Toss mixture to wilt the spinach and coat the veggies with the maple syrup.

Step 18

Place cooked vegetables on serving a dish.

Step 19

Slice duck breast and place on top of the vegetable mixture.

Step 20

Add pan gravy around the inside edge of the serving dish, not directly on the vegetables or duck, but around it.

Step 21

Sprinkle with chopped Italian parsley to garnish if desired and serve.