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This is a great autumn salad, full of the rich flavours of duck and the earthy palate of beetroot with sharp goats cheese to cut through the fat from the crispy duck skin. This is all brought together with lentils and broccoli. It’s great as a starter but equally satisfying as a main course.
Ingredients (for two people)
- 2 duck breasts
- 2 medium raw red beets
- 250g new potatoes
- 100g lentils
- ¼ bunch of watercress
- 120g rosary goats cheese
- 6-10 stems of tender stem broccoli
- 2 tbls of olive oil
- 3 tsp fig vincotto vinegar
Suggested Wine Pairing
Method
Individually wrap the beetroot in tin foil and cook until tender. Once cooked and cool, unwrap them and literality rub the skin off .
Cook the lentils as described on the packet. Then cool them in cold water until the sauce is finished. There is no need to soak them.
Blanch the broccoli and the new potatoes and again refresh them in cold water. Place them on a tray with a cloth on to absorb the water.
Mix the olive oil and vincotto (you can use a good balsamic vinegar here too) together to make a dressing
Pick sprigs off the watercress
For the duck, start skin side down in a cold heavy bottomed pan. The skin should be scored through but not into the flesh and well salted. Cook onn a medium heat until the colour has almost changed all the way through and then flip it over. Give it approx another 5mins. The whole process should take about 12-15 mins.
Plate the vegetables first then the duck and watercress, dress it with the olive oil and the vincotto or balsamic, then crumble the goats cheese.
TIPS:
There are lots of different varieties of beetroot out there so don’t be afraid to try some different colours. They all cook in the same way but can add a slightly different flavour as well add a new colour to your dish. This recipe is based on a cold version, with warm cooked duck, but if you want to make this dish warm follow the recipe and before plating just pop the broccoli, lentils, beets and new potatoes under a hot grill first. As you may well know beetroots can leak there colour so just be careful not to muddle them all up with the rest of the vegetables.
