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Recipe: Lychee Duck Salad
Fresh, tasty and perfect for a warm summers day! Impress your guests with a gourmet salad using Aussie Lychees'.
Aussie Lychees'
By Megann Evans
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Salad
Duck Breasts
2 red witlof or red radicchio lettuces
4 baby beetroot, cut into small wedges
1 red onion, finely sliced
1 orange
4 lychees, split, peeled and seeded
3 red radishes, finely sliced
Baby herbs
Dressing
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1tbs lemon juice
1tbs seeded mustard
Salt & pepper to taste
Shop all your fresh ingredients at your local Westfield
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
- Half the radicchio, rinse and dry. Clean the radishes and finely slice.
- Peel, halve and pit the lychees. With a knife, peel and segment the orange. Set all these ingredients aside.
- To make the dressing, whisk the vinegar, lemon, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Whisking constantly, add the oil in a slow, steady stream and continue whisking until slightly thickened. Keeps in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- Clean and dry duck breasts thoroughly with a paper towel, dry skin to ensure it becomes crispy while cooking. Using a sharp knife, score the skin of the duck breast. Season the duck with salt & pepper. Place the breast, skin side down, on a cold non-stick pan and bring to a medium heat. With tongs pressing down on the breast, cook for 5 minutes, flip, then place the whole pan (alternatively place onto a baking tray) in the oven for a remaining 3 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, set aside and cover with foil allowing it to rest for at least 5-10 minutes before cutting into thin slices diagonally. Pour the duck fat
from the pan and sauté the beetroot and onion together over a medium heat for about 6 minutes, until the onion and beetroot are soft. They will go a gorgeous pink/red colour. Season & set aside.
Layer the salad, beetroot and onion, top with the duck and lychees and sprinkle with micro herbs.
Kitchen notes
- Blood orange is nice to use if in season
- For an oil-free dressing, a caramelised balsamic vinegar is a great alternative to a quick and easy dressing and pairs perfectly with duck.
- You want the lychees to be sweet jewels of surprise in your mouth. Cut them according to your taste, be it in half or quarters.
- If you can’t get radicchio at your local market, swap for a firm, preferably red leaf lettuce. “Little gem” lettuce combos are great and have lovely vibrant red and green colours. “Baby cos” is also a good alternate.
- Any game meat will work well. For easy entertaining, substitute the duck breast with chicken breast (skin on), or swap out the leftover turkey for leftover chicken.