Festive Duck Breast Salad with Seared Pineapple and Pomegranate

This Festive Duck Breast Salad with Seared Pineapple and Pomegranate is one of our favourite meals. This recipe is especially good, using duck breasts; combining them with the fruitiness of pineapple and pomegranate, while providing crunch with the cashew nuts. The nuts and fruit beautifully offset the rich flavour of the duck. The mix of the fruit and spices also make this a great salad to serve during the holiday season. This recipe Serves 2.

Ingredients

• Good quality duck breasts
• A pinch of Salt
• 75 g cashew nuts
• 20 ml of soy sauce
• 15 ml of honey
• 1⁄2 small fresh pineapple, peeled and cut into quarters lengthwise
• 20 ml olive oil,
• 50 g castor sugar
• 75 ml pineapple juice
• 2 ml ground coriander
• 2 ml cayenne pepper
• 1-star anise
• 1⁄2 pomegranate, seeds removed, retain juice
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 bag watercress, or rocket

Method

To make the festive duck breast salad firstly preheat your oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas mark 4.
Then prepare the duck breasts, you can do this by trimming away any sinew and excess fat from around the breast but leave the skin intact because this will add a crispy element to your dish. Score the skin with a sharp knife and season, this will make the skin crisp up when cooked.
Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over medium heat and place the duck breasts, skin-side down, in the dry pan.
Remove any fat from the pan while cooking and once the skin is golden brown turn the breast over and cook it for a further 1-2 minutes. Once completed transfer the duck breasts to the preheated oven and cook a further 4 – 5 minutes. Remove the duck from the oven and while the breasts are still warm, slice the breasts on the diagonal.

The toppings

Mix the cashew nuts with the soy sauce and 15 ml of honey. Place this mixture onto a baking tray and roast it for 10 minutes this will give them a roasted nutty flavour. To prepare the pineapple take the slices and place them in a pan and saute them until lightly golden.

The dressing

Start by placing the sugar into a frying pan until it turns a light caramel colour.
Next add the pineapple juice, coriander, cayenne pepper, star anise, 15 ml honey,
and any juice from the pomegranates. Mix well, and set aside to cool for 25 – 30 minutes, for flavours to
infuse. Then strain the sauce.
To finish Combine the duck slices, seared pineapple, strained caramel sauce, and the pomegranate seeds gently to blend the flavours. Lastly, Arrange the watercress or rocket onto plates. Place the duck mixture attractively on top. Sprinkle with chopped cashew nuts, and drizzle over some of the caramel sauce.

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