Name: Duck breast salad with beets and orange
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 2 duck breasts; 1/2 teaspoon sea salt; 2 tablespoon olive oil; 1 cup rocket (or other salad greens); 250 gram store-bought beets; 1 orange, peel and pith removed, thinly sliced; juice of 1 orange; 1/4 cup pistachios, toasted

Duck breast salad with beets and orange

While duck legs require a longer, slower cook to get the best from them, duck breasts are best served crispy-skinned but rare. Cooked in this way, they are meltingly tender and delicious

Serves 2

Cook

15M

Ingredients

2 duck breasts

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup rocket (or other salad greens)

250 gram store-bought beets

1 orange, peel and pith removed, thinly sliced

juice of 1 orange

1/4 cup pistachios, toasted

Method

1.Pat the duck breasts dry. With a sharp knife, make a criss-cross pattern in the skin, then salt both sides well. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan on medium heat and carefully put the breasts, skin side down, in pan. Lower the heat and cook until the skin has crisped and much of the fat rendered. Turn and cook for a further 3-4 minutes, then rest for 10 minutes.

2.On a platter, spread the rocket, quartered beets and orange slices.

3.Slice the warm duck breast with a sharp knife diagonally – it should be cooked and crispy on the outside but pink in the middle. Lay the duck slices over the salad.

4.Mix the remaining olive oil and orange juice together, then pour over the salad. Scatter with the pistachios and serve.

Nici Wickes