Duck & Peach Salad

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Duck & Peach Salad

I’m not generally a fan of meat and fruit together, but duck seems to be an exception and works well with oranges, figs and stone fruit – in this case delicious summer peaches. Duck breasts are surprisingly easy to cook, though as a short-cut you could buy a whole duck from a Chinese barbecue shop and shred the meat from it to make this duck and peach salad even quicker. The peaches need to be ripe enough to have flavour, but still firm enough that you can easily peel and slice them. Pinot noir is a great match with duck – and I enjoy a glass or two of Tarras Vineyards ‘The Canyon’, from Central Otago in New Zealand, with this duck and peach salad. See video below for another easy peach dish from the Southern USA.

Serves 4 as a starter (or 2 as a main course)

Ingredients
  • 2 x 200g duck breast fillets, skin on (7oz)
  • Salt flakes, to taste
  • 1 red oak leaf lettuce
  • ½ red onion, very finely sliced
  • 1 firm white peach, peeled and finely sliced
  • 1 firm yellow peach, peeled and finely sliced
  • ¼ cup chopped roasted hazelnuts (30g/1oz)

Apple & Ginger Vinaigrette

  • ¼ cup grape seed oil (60ml)
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (20ml)
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (5g)
  • ½ teaspoon soy sauce (2.5ml)
  • ½ teaspoon juice from grated ginger (2.5ml)
  • Salt flakes, to taste
Method
  1. Remove duck from fridge 30-60 minutes before cooking.
  2. Pat duck skin dry with paper towel then use a very sharp knife to cut fine diagonal score marks through the skin in a criss-cross pattern, without cutting into the meat.
  3. Place in a small frying pan, skin side-down and set aside for 30–60 minutes to come to room temperature.
  4. Meanwhile, make Apple & Ginger Vinaigrette: shake all ingredients together in a screw top jar. Set aside.
  5. Place pan containing duck over medium-high heat and cook for about 5 minutes, pouring off the fat as it melts, until skin is dark golden (reserve the fat for cooking potatoes if you like).
  6. Turn duck over, reduce heat to medium, salt skin generously and cook for a further 6–8 minutes (depending on thickness), until internal temperature registers 55-60°C (130–140°F) on a probe thermometer for medium rare.
  7. Remove duck to a plate, skin side up, and set aside in a warm place for a few minutes.
  8. Meanwhile, break lettuce into pieces and toss with onion and just enough Apple & Ginger Vinaigrette to coat.
  9. Arrange on a serving platter.
  10. Slice duck and arrange on top of lettuce with peach slices.
  11. Scatter with hazelnuts and serve duck and peach salad as a starter or main course.
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