If you’re anything like me Monday night is not a night when you want to be coming home from work and cooking something taxing. I’m loving my new job but even so, the start of the working week after the weekend off usually requires that little extra effort to get you going and into it, especially in the winter when it’s cold, wet and windy outside. So when you’ve travelled home in the dark on a train-full of tired commuters like yourself you probably don’t want to be spending ages in the kitchen just to get a good meal on the table. Well that’s certainly how I felt this evening, anyway.
So tonight I opted for duck breasts, which take only about 20 minutes to cook, with salad. To liven up the usual salad leaves I added some raw, shredded red cabbage and drizzled over a simple dressing of 3 parts extra virgin olive oil to 1 part white wine vinegar, whisked together.
To cook the duck breasts season them and put them skin side down (assuming you haven’t gone for skinless) in a frying pan and cook over a medium heat. They will release their lovely fat into the pan – which you can save for roast potatoes (store in the fridge). After about 10 minutes turn them over and give them about another 10 minutes if you like them deliciously rare, as I do. Make sure you leave them to rest for 5 minutes so that their juices go back into them.
I share with you the same opinion about Monday dinners. I make it always very simple and fast. Always ends being very good.
Great dish, by the way.
Have a great week,
C.
Great! but somehow my duck meat didn’t come out that tender… but its the fastest to make thou’
There is no way I am buying a skinless duck breast. It’s the best part. Great recipe.
Cheers
I love duck breasts (skin-on for me, please!) and love them sliced in a salad just like this too. I sometimes make a nice oriental glaze for them with soy, ginger, chilli and honey and then and top the salad with some spring onions which is nice too.
Monday night is always something speedy – I quite agree!
Hey Julia,
Your blog is making me hungry. hahaha I just remembered I hadn’t had lunch yet! The fact that the pictures are so big makes me salivate even more.
I’ve never had the knack for cooking. The last I made anything in the kitchen was a cake that ended up tasting like biscuits!
I think I should get a portable dvd player and play Jamie Oliver in my kitchen. Thats the only way I can do it. Maybe you should have like a cooking class on Youtube then I mirror your cooking!
Amran
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Mmm, this looks fantastic. I’d be tempted to add some quince or redcurrant jelly as they go so well with duck, and a bit of stickiness is always welcome in a salad!
Hope the duck was reared organically or at least free-range! Ducks, like all poultry (and pigs), are easy to factory-farm so the poor things get a rough deal. Organic meat is the most expensive organic item in a shopping basket but to my mind it is worth it because it has been reared more slowly and fed naturally so it tastes better too. The solution to being able to afford organic meat? Eat it less often… This how we used to view meat: as a treat.
Mmmm the duck looks perfectly cooked. delicious 🙂
Duck is one meat that I have yet to try… yours looks divine!
Is it very gamey?
Maybe I’ll give it a try this holiday, in lieu of the traditional turkey. We’ll have our fill of turkey anyway, between all the family dinners.
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That looks amazing. Love duck!
Tasty looking salad!
I found a really nice recipe for duck breast – score the fat with a criss cross pattern, pat on a mixture of salt and szechuan peppercorns dry roasted in a pan and then ground up – watch they don’t burn!). Cook skin side down on quite a low heat for about 10 mins to release the fat. Tip out the fat and then blast it on high heat to crisp the skin, then give it one or two minutes on the meat side, turn it skin side up again,and put the pan in the oven at about 180c for 5-10 mins depending on how you like it.
Its really nice with stir fried veg or with some sort of fruity sauce which is still a bit tart – I’ve done it with rhubarb and with apple (cookers with a little bit of sugar)
Robert