I love my salads almost as much as I love my soup. So that's the first thing I thought of when a couple of friends came round for Sunday lunch a fortnight ago bearing a large smoked duck breast as a present (wine writers don't often give other wine writers bottles of wine when they're invited for lunch – for some reason culinary gifts are deemed to be far more acceptable).
The duck breast in question ended up in a fine salad that Mark and I enjoyed midweek – it's the kind of thing I like to rustle up when I'm busy and don't have much time for faffing in the kitchen (and at the moment I have very little time at all, what with trips to Burgundy and Bordeaux, plus all kinds of impossible deadlines – at least six before breakfast each morning...)
I bought some of those tender young salad leaves – nothing too bitter or peppery – sliced the duck, then extracted the seeds from a ripe pomegranate. I also added a little finely sliced red onion and some chopped walnuts, then dressed it all with a simple vinaigrette based on walnut oil (yes, walnut oil again – but I'm not sick of it yet), with a little pomegranate molasses (a sweet-sour syrup that I used as a substitute for balsamic vinegar – only a little, mind) and some red wine vinegar plus a dab of Dijon mustard.
We enjoyed it so much I went out and bought another duck breast at the weekend so we can have the same salad again some time soon – as long as our late winter gives way to a slightly warmer spring.
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