PAY DAY: Roasted Duck Salad with Grilled Plums, Feta, Buckwheat & Pomegranate

by - March 01, 2015

Duck Leg Salad with Griddle Plums, Feta, Buckwheat, Tomatoes, Cucumber, Spinach, Rocket, Watercress, Tenderstem Broccoli, Green Beans, Pomegranate and Mint!

duck leg salad with griddled plums, feta, buckwheat, tomatoes, rocket, watercress, green beans, pomegranate and mint
So goooood! Salty, crispy skin reveals tender, juicy dark meat. Follow that with a bite of warm buttery plum and a forkfull of sweet piccolo tomatoes, tangy feta, nutty buckwheat and gorgeous pomegranate seeds and you are in heaven. I made this for my friend Rosie at her mum's beautiful country retreat and we sat and ate in 'satisfied silence' with the occasional moan of pleasure until the plates were clean. 

It's really easy to make and even though duck can be expensive (legs are cheaper than breast and are so much tastier, as with most on-the-bone meat) the rest of the ingredients won't cost much at all. Duck contains high levels of omega-3 fatty acids which contain strong anti-inflammatory nutrients, aid in healthy oil production for well hydrated skin, scalp and hair, assist in mood regulation and are important for brain and eye health. Duck fat is among the healthiest of fats out there, with it's composition more like olive oil than butter. Not to mention it is delicious.  Quack on!


I used:


2 Gressingham Duck legs 
25g feta
half a cup of pomegranate seeds
Handful piccolo tomatoes
Handful tenderstem broccoli
Handful green beans
A couple of handfuls of buckwheat
2 dark purple plums


1/5 cucumber 
Handful watercress, spinach and rocket (a pre-mixed bag)
One red chilli - finely chopped and de-seeded 
Knob of salted butter
Garlic


Buckwheat doesn't actually contain wheat. It's a member of the RHUBARB family! word-up! Say whaaaat!? Buckwheat has a really low GI index so you will be fuller longer and it's main goodness, Rutin, slows down ageing. Nice one, Buckwheat. 

Pre-heat your oven to 200 then PRICK and season the duck legs all over with salt and pepper and rub it in. No need for oil the little fatties will have enough juices. Cook for about 40 mins until they are looking golden.
In the meantime make your salad, in a bowl combine the leaves, cucumber, tomatoes, chili and drizzle with oil. I used lemon oil because it was available and season well.

Boil your buckwheat on a low temperature for about 10 minutes until tender.
Melt some butter in a griddle and place your plum halves skin side up and cook until they are warmed through and have nice grill marks on them.
Set aside with the duck.
In the same griddle, add some chopped garlic and the tenderstem and french beans. You don't want your plums to be garlicky, which is why you're doing it this way round.
Once they are cooked you can plate up. The salad, then the buckwheat however you like, I put some on the side and some sprinkled through the salad to add texture. Then the duck leg taking centre stage (contemplated shredding the meat but decided on the bone is much tastier, with the crispy skin), the feta crumbled all over, the mint torn all over and finally the pomegranate seeds scattered all over. This meal really is a delight in your mouth with the richness of the duck and the freshness of the mint and pomegranate, the cheese and the buckwheat. Try it and let me know what it was like for you!



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