[ RECIPE ] Duck & Sweet Potato Salad

Going through this journey of trying to eat healthier I’m finding that there really is so much variety when it comes to food. At first I thought it would all be about the main dishes and what alternative cuisines I could try, but in actual fact it’s everything and experimenting and trying new things really is the key to increasing your knowledge of food.

Lunches used to be fairly straight forward. A simple tuna sandwich with a bag of crisps on the side and perhaps a chocolate bar if there was one in the cupboard (how unhealthy was I!)

Things have changed so much and I’m now getting the chance to appreciate some real quality food, especially when it comes to the wide-range of exciting (and filling!) salads.

The salad I’m bringing you today is a real winner in my opinion. It includes Duck, Sweet Potato, Carrot, Tomato Relish & Spinach, so there’s plenty of protein, iron and other great reasons to try it. 

Plus the raspberry sauce really cuts into the gamey flavour of the duck!

Hope you like it and let me know what you think!

 

Serves 2  |  Prep 15 Mins  |  Cooking 20 Mins 

2 Duck Breasts (skin on)
Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper
2 teaspoons Ground Cumin
200g Raspberries
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 Sweet Potato (peeled & cut into chunks)
2 Salad Tomatoes (diced)
1 Carrot (peeled)
200g Baby Spinach

 

Score the skin of the duck breasts in a criss-cross pattern with a sharp knife and season with salt, pepper and cumin on both sides. 

Place an oven-proof frying pan on a high heat and immediately add the duck skin-side down. 

As soon as the pan starts to sizzle, reduce the heat by half to render off some of the fat from the skin and cook for 5 minutes. 

Whilst the duck is cooking, pre-heat the oven to 180C (fan-assisted) or 200C (conventional) and after the timer is up, turn the duck breasts over so that they are skin-side up and place into the oven for 10-12 minutes. 

Meanwhile boil the sweet potato in a separate pan and heat a separate saucepan on a medium-high heat. 

Add the raspberries along with 100ml cold water and the salt, place the lid on and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes and then pass the raspberries through a sieve into a bowl to catch any juices. 

Carefully remove the duck from the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes. 

Whilst the duck is resting, drain the sweet potato through a colander and carefully cut into smaller chunks. 

Slice the duck thickly and assemble over a bed of spinach. Scatter the diced tomato over along with the sweet potato and carrot shavings, then drizzle over the raspberry sauce.