ROAST DUCK AND WATERMELON SALAD WITH GREEN CHILLI AND ROASTED PEANUTS
Ingredients
4 x duck legs, salt and black pepper for cooking
3 sprigs of mint
3 sprigs of coriander
DRESSING
1 medium sized watermelon (with skin removed and cut into bite-sized irregular chunks
1 x 4cm piece of ginger peeled, use peelings for the dressing and the flesh for the garnish
3 green or red chilli de-seeded and finely chopped
2 small cloves of garlic
3 coriander roots, cleaned
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar
4 limes juiced
2 oranges juiced
2 tablespoons fish sauce
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
GARNISH
2 stems of lemongrass finely sliced (tough outer leaves removed)
4 lime leaves (shave off the spine of the leaf. Place leaves on top of each other and roll into a cigar shape and finely slice)
1 medium knob of peeled ginger grated (peelings used for the dressing)
3 spring onions finely sliced
100g skinless blanched peanuts (gently roasted till golden brown)
Description
This salad is amazing and well worth a try. The dressing is what really sets this salad apart. It has a perfect balance of hot, sweet, salty and sour.
Method
Place the duck legs on a piece of folded tin foil on a roasting tray and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast at 180°C for 1hour until golden and crisp.
Peel the watermelon with a sharp knife. Cut into wedges and remove seeds with a teaspoon. Cut the flesh into irregular chunks about 3cm long and place in a large bowl.
Meanwhile prepare the garnish ingredients by gently roasting peanuts until golden, chop the chilli, grate the ginger, finely slice the spring onions and finely slice the lemongrass. Roll the lime leaves and finely slice
DRESSING
In a small food processor, blend the ginger peelings into a rough pulp with a couple of tablespoons of water. Remove and save any of the juice (we are not going to use the pulp, only the juice).
Add the green chilli to the blender with the garlic and cleaned coriander roots, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of sugar and blend to a smooth puree.
Add the limejuice, and orange juice and fish sauce.
When the duck is golden brown all over, remove from the oven and allow to cool. Discard the skin and fat and pull the meat off the bone with two forks break the meat up into even sized pieces. And mix with the watermelon.
Add all the prepared ingredients to the bowl, except the fresh herbs and the roasted nuts. Add the dressing and leave to marinade for five minutes before serving. Roughly crush some of the roasted peanuts and add to the salad. Tear the mint and coriander into the bowl, mix together and serve.
Categories
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