Nothing could better illustrate the differences between the French and the Anglo-Saxon styles of cooking than duck with peas but I cannot decide which I prefer.

A Frenchman would, or should, cook his duck twice; first until the breasts are a lovely rosy pink, then he will remove the legs from the carcase and cook them some more. He will probably serve the breast meat thinly sliced with the peas braised with a little chiffonade of lettuce, some button onions and a few small lardons of bacon. The legs will probably follow, served crisp with a salad or with some potatoes fried in the fat from the roasting.