Duck salad recipe with spring onions, radishes and sesame seed dressing

Today’s duck salad recipe comes from Bel & The Dragon Inns.

Shooters will find it useful to know that the Bell & The Dragon venues in Churt, Odiham, Kingsclere and Cookham have bedrooms with gun safes. A worthwhile tip when you’re planning shooting nearby.

In the meantime, here’s a dish that’s perfect for summer days.

Duck salad recipe with spring onions, radishes and sesame seed dressing

Ingredients

• 4 duck legs
• Handful rock salt
• 1 orange, chopped into quarters, skin on
• ½ tbsp fennel seeds
• ½ tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 star anise
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 sprigs of thyme
• 1 tbsp peppercorns

Dressing 

• 100ml sesame oil
• 100ml olive oil
• 50ml balsamic vinegar
• 50ml soy sauce
• 50g honey
• 25ml sherry vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

To serve

• 140g mixed leaf salad
• 3-4 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 200g radishes, sliced
• Seeds of 1 pomegranate
• Handful of toasted sesame seeds

Method

1. The day before you make the dish, scatter half the salt, orange and herbs and spices over the base of a small, shallow dish. Lay the duck legs, skin-side up, on top then scatter over the remaining salt, orange and herb mix. Cover the dish and refrigerate overnight.
2. Brush the salt off the duck legs and place them skin-side down in a clean dish. Cover with duck fat and the reserved aromatics then cover tightly with foil. Place in a low oven (100ºC) for two hours, after which time the duck legs should be submerged in their own fat and the meat should feel incredibly tender. Leave to cool before gently removing the meat from the bone and setting aside.
3. Make the sesame dressing: combine the sesame oil, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, honey and sherry vinegar in a bowl and mix well. Season to taste.
4. Serve the confit duck on a bed of salad leaves with the spring onions, radishes and pomegranate. Pour over the dressing and scatter with sesame seeds.

This dish was created by group head chef, Ronnie Kimbugwe, of Bel & The Dragon country inns.