Barefoot Contessa's Warm Duck Salad

I saw an episode of The Barefoot Contessa a few weeks ago where she made this Warm Duck Salad.  It wasn't until we went out for dinner to The Dome for our wedding anniversary that I remembered Ina's dish.  The Dome served Roast Breast of Barbary Duck with Sautéed Wild Mushrooms, Blackberry Chutney and Fondant Potato, finished with a Red Wine Sauce, and it was divine!  (Ironically the starter I picked was the exact same one we served at our wedding breakfast - Traditional Smoked Salmon served with Capers, Red Onion and Egg)

I'm so used to seeing duck paired with orange that branching out to blackberries and raspberries was a bit of a revelation for me.  This salad still uses oranges, but it is by no means that main flavouring and instead helps lift out the tart summery taste of the raspberries - just as divine as The Domes creation ;0)

Barefoot Contessa's Warm Duck Salad

2 boneless duck breasts, skin on

Salt

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 1/2 tbsp sherry vinegar

1 tsp orange zest

1/2 cup good olive oil (I used a locally produced rapeseed oil)
A mixture of salad leaves (I used Watercress, Spinach, Wild Rocket and Baby Gem Lettuce)

1 orange, peeled, cut in 1/2 and sliced

170g fresh raspberries

75g toasted whole pecan halves

Preheat oven to 200C.

Place duck breasts on a sheet pan, skin side up.  Sprinkle with salt and roast for about 20 mins, until medium rare (the duck breasts I had were quite large so I roasted them for longer as I'm still coming round to the idea of medium rare!)  Remove from the oven, cover tightly with foil and allow to sit for 10 to 15 mins.  Remove and discard the fat and skin on top, slice the duck and then cut the slices crosswise into julienned pieces.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the shallots, sherry vinegar, orange zest and 1 1/2 tsp salt.  Whisk in the olive oil and set aside.

For the salad, trim the bottom from the baby gem lettuce and cut them diagonally into 2.5cm slices.  Separate the leaves and discard the cores.  Place the slices in a large salad bowl.  Add the other salad leaves, oranges, raspberries and toasted pecans.  Toss with enough dressing to moisten.  Gently toss in the warm duck meat and serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 6
Food Network

I would definitely make this dish again but next time I would rethink the dressing.  The recipe makes enough for 8 to 10 people easily and even using a small amount I still ended up with an oil slick on the bottom of my plate.  It was pretty salty too.  Other than this though it was really yummy and actually a doddle to put together after work last night.