Remove the skin from the duck breasts.

Season the breasts and marinade in the oil and sliced garlic for about 1 hour.

Cut the skin with fat attached into fine strips and cook until crisp in a hot oven with a pan underneath to collect the fat and set aside on kitchen paper. Slice the lettuce thinly.

Remove the breasts from the marinade, pour the fat from the pan and cook the breasts on a high heat for about 2 minutes on each side. This can be done on the floor of the top right oven in the aga so the kitchen will not fill with smoke. Place the breasts aside on a wooden board to rest.

Add some garlic oil to the pan and quickly stir the lettuce in this until wilted. Add the cream and season with salt and pepper and add a little vinegar. Spoon onto plates.

Slice the breasts, which should be lovely and pink, and arrange on top of the lettuce.

Sprinkle over some balsamic vingar and the crispy curls of duck skin.

Delicious served with mashed potatoes.