Roast duck & griddled plum salad recipe

Ingredients

  • 3 duck legs
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • 500ml pomegranate juice
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 175g bulgur wheat
  • 6 plums, halved and stoned
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 300g green beans, trimmed and halved
  • seeds from 1 pomegranate, or 110g tub pomegranate seeds
  • 1 red onion, finely chopped
  • 50g toasted flaked almonds
  • 200g pack feta cheese, crumbled
  • large bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • small bunch mint, leaves picked and torn if large

For the dressing

  • 100ml pomegranate juice

For the dressing

  • 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses (or 2 tbsp redcurrant jelly plus 1 tbsp lemon juice)

For the dressing

  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

For the dressing

  • 2 preserved lemons, middles scooped out and discarded, skins finely sliced

For the dressing

  • juice of 2 lemons

For the dressing

  • 1 tbsp clear honey

Method

  • Up to 2 days before, sit the duck legs in your slow cooker or a small casserole or baking dish – if you don’t have a slow cooker, heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Pour over the stock and pomegranate juice so that the legs are submerged. Poke in the cinnamon stick, cover with the lid, or tightly with foil, and slow-cook for 4 hrs on High, or in the oven for 2 hrs, until the duck is really tender. Cool in the liquid, then chill until you make the salad.

  • One hour before you want to start the salad, lift the duck legs from the liquid, pat dry with kitchen paper and sit in a roasting tin to dry out a little.

  • Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Rub the cumin and cinnamon all over the duck legs with plenty of salt and some ground black pepper, and roast for 15-20 mins. Meanwhile, cook the bulgur wheat following pack instructions, then drain well. Heat a dry griddle pan, brush the halved plums with a little olive oil and griddle for about 5 mins on either side. Set everything aside to cool a little while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

  • Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the green beans and cook for 2-4 mins until tender but still with some bite. Drain under cold running water to cool.

  • Whisk together all the dressing ingredients with plenty of seasoning.

  • When the duck is cool enough to handle, shred the meat and crispy skin from the bones. Transfer to a platter with the roasted plums, pomegranate seeds, red onion, bulgur wheat, green beans, flaked almonds, feta and herbs. Toss everything together gently with the dressing and eat immediately.

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