Honey Glazed Duck Salad

There’s nothing like a warm meat salad in winter, and duck is one of the best meats out there for it. When cooked right it’s both crispy and moist, with a deliciously deep meaty flavour. It also goes really well with sticky sweet things, and so naturally it appeals to my sweet tooth.

I first cooked duck this way for a competition a few years ago. Scoring and crisping up the skin before cooking off the meat is the way to make the most out of this cut, as otherwise it can end up really dry and fatty. Then coating it in honey and five spice creates a stunning aroma which makes it hard to not eat immediately. I’ve also combined it with plums and lentils here to make a balanced, substantial salad, but you could easily mix and match these as you choose to suit your preferences.

Recipe

Serves 2

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tsp Butter
• 2 Duck Breasts
• 2 tbsp Runny honey
• 1 tsp Five spice
• 75g Pine nuts
• 2 Handfuls of salad leaves
• 200g Green lentils, cooked to packet instructions
• 3 Plums, de-stoned and cut into 8
• Olive oil to serve

Method

1. Put the butter into a frying pan and melt gently over a medium heat.
2. Trim the excess fat off the duck breasts and score the fat with a knife into a criss-cross shape.
3. Put the duck fat-side down into the pan and fry until golden and caramelised.
4. Turn the duck over onto the flesh side, add the honey and five spice, and fry for another 5 minutes on a gentle heat.
5. Take the duck out of the pan and leave on a board or plate to rest for at least 8 minutes. Meanwhile put the pine nuts into the pan with the juices and lightly brown. Set aside for later.
6. Put the salad leaves into two bowls. Sprinkle over the cooked lentils and plum pieces. Fan out the duck on the salad and spoon over the pine nuts. Finish the salad with more honey, the pan juices and olive oil and serve!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x