In a survey a couple of years ago the French people voted duck breast, magret de canard, the most popular dish. In the following recipe, figs give a nice late summer- autumnal twist. Quatre-épices is a spice mixture of ground cinnamon, ginger, clove and nutmeg which reminded us of Nordic vin chaud, glögg, at Christmas time. Quatre-épices is easy to find in Nice supermarkets.

2 servings

Wash and dry the figs. Cut them into quarters. Make cuts in the fatty side of the duck breast. Heat a frying pan and fry the duck breast 5 minutes on both sides, starting with the fatty side. Discard the fat and reduce the heat to the minimum. Sprinkle the quatre-épice on the duck breast and continue cooking for 10 minutes, turning once. Cook the green beans and keep warm. Remove the duck breast from the pan and keep warm under foil. Pour the honey into the pan and gently cook the figs for about 4 -5 minutes. Turn them once so that they are well coated with the honey. Remove them from the pan and divide on the plates. Pour the balsamic vinegar into the pan and mix with the remaining quatre-épices. Slice the duck breast and divide on the plates. Grind a little black pepper over the slices. Divide the green beans on the plates. Drizzle the vinegar sauce over the duck slices and decorate with parsley.