Crispy Duck Salad
by Jay Rayner
Inspired by the dish created by Mark Hix when he was at Le Caprice and the Ivy. A while after I’d come up with my version of this joyous salad, I found Hix’s original recipe online. It is what you’d expect of a diligent restaurant chef. Fresh duck legs have to be simmered with aromatics for forty-five minutes, allowed to dry, cut up into pieces then deep-fried. The sauce for the duck has five ingredients. My version, which has been given Hix’s amused approval, cuts out about two hours of work, including the cleaning of a deep fat fryer, by using duck confit, now readily available from many shops and online. It also uses a jar of shop-bought hoi sin sauce. What makes it work is the pepperiness of the leaves, which need a sharp dressing, and the sweetness of the duck. It’s both adult and childlike at the same time.
Method
Based on 2 servings, adjust as needed.
Step 1
Gently toast the sesame seeds in a dry cast iron frying pan, over a medium heat. Keep watch. They burn easily. When most of them are lightly golden brown, remove to a bowl, add a pinch of table salt, and set aside. Wipe down the pan to remove any stray sesame seeds that are hanging about. They don’t taste at all nice when burnt.
Step 2
Separate out the duck legs and place them skin side down in the frying pan over the lowest heat. Do not add any oil. They’ll produce more than enough fat of their own. Turn every 5 minutes or so, as they start to colour. After about 10 or 15 minutes, take the pan of the heat. Using a fork and a sharp knife you should be able to pull the meat away from the bone. Break it up into smaller pieces, with the skin down. Put back on to the heat. Use a spatula to continue breaking up the meat into smaller pieces. Attend to any pieces of skin that come away from the meat. They may look a bit fatty, but gently increase the heat and they will crisp up, though do keep an eye on it all so it doesn’t burn.
Step 3
Once crisped, remove the leg bones and keep them as a chef ’s perk. Stand by the stove, chewing of the last bits of meat while no one else is watching. You’ve earned it. When the duck is broken up and crisped take the pan of the heat.
Step 4
Put the olive oil, sherry vinegar and sesame oil into the bottom of a bowl, including a good pinch of sea salt. Pile the leaves and sliced radishes on top, then toss and turn to coat in the dressing using your hands or, if you’re a little uptight, salad servers. Portion out on to plates or flat bowls.
Step 5
Put the hoi sin sauce in the bottom of a mixing bowl. Add the duck and mix to coat every piece completely.
Step 6
Top each portion of the salad with the duck. Sprinkle on the toasted sesame seeds and decorate with the batons of spring onion.
- Ingredients
- Based on 2 servings
-
2 Confit Duck Legs 1x Gressingham Bistro Confit Duck 430g -
4 tbsp Hoi Sin Sauce 1x Blue Dragon Rich Hoisin Sauce 250ml -
1.5 tbsp Sesame Seeds 1x Sainsbury's Sesame Seeds 50g -
100g Watercress and Rocket, stalks trimmed 2x Sainsbury's Spinach, Watercress & Rocket Salad 80g -
6 Large Radishes, sliced 1x Sainsbury's Radish 240g -
4 Spring Onions, trimmed and sliced into batons 1x Sainsbury's Spring Onions Bunch 100g -
2 tbsp Olive Oil 1x Sainsbury's Olive Oil 1L -
Maldon Salt to taste 1x Maldon Sea Salt Flakes 250g -
1.5 tbsp Sherry Vinegar, wine vinegar is a good alternative 1x Sainsbury's Spanish Sherry Vinegar 375ml
-
1 tsp Sesame Seed Oil 1x KTC Pressed Toasted Pure Sesame Oil 250ml