Fig, Radish, Hazelnut and Smoked Duck Breast Salad

As Summer is close by but still hesitating to show up, I thought about that salad that I usually like to prepare in Autumn because of the smoked duck breast and the hazelnuts. Anyway, it’s always time to propose that salad recipe as it combines the forest flavors with the freshness of the crispy radishes and the sweetness of the dried figs.

We may call it the Four Season Salad indeed…. Radishes for the Spring, Figs for the Summer, Hazelnuts for the Autumn and Duck for the Winter….!

Ingredients:

• a bunch of radishes, trimmed, washed and thinly sliced lengthways
• a smoked duck breast
• a dash of balsamic or raspberry vinegar to deglaze
• a handful of dried figs
• a handful of hazelnuts out of their shells and roughly chopped
• 1/2 tbsp of butter
• 2-3 handful of fresh lettuce, oak leaf salad or baby leaves

For the dressing:

• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar or raspberry vinegar
• salt and pepper
• 3-4 tbsp vegetable oil

Method:

If you have fresh hazelnuts, find some patient hands to get them out of their shelves and get rid of any hard leftovers… Find a funny nutcracker for example and make it a toy for your kids!

Get all the other ingredients ready to assemble:

Wash and spin the salad,

Thinly slice lengthways the radishes and plunge them in cold water to keep them crispy,

Quarter or roughly chop the figs into 1cm square.

For the hazelnuts, heat the butter in a pan and gently fry the hazelnuts to release their flavor and give them a nice coloration. Let it cool down.

Using the same pan or not…. starting from cold or hot, cover the surface with the duck breast slices on one single layer and fry gently until it start to get crispy. Turn them upside down and keep on cooking for 1-2 minutes. Deglaze with balsamic vinegar or raspberry vinegar, let reduce and keep it at hand.

Prepare the dressing: whisk together all the ingredients and adjust to your taste.

When you are ready to serve the salad, pass the radishes through a colander and get them dry with a kitchen paper or towel.

In a salad bowl or a serving dish, spread part of the salad of your choice and sprinkle part of each the components on top of it. Drizzle with the dressing and make another layer with the remaining ingredients.

Serve straight away.

The salad is even better when you serve it while the hazelnuts and duck breasts are still hot….

      

Salade aux Magrets de Canard Fumés, Radis, Noisettes et Figues Séchées

Ingrédients:

• une botte de radis, lavés, équeutés et émincés dans le sens de la longueur
• un magret de canard fumé et tranché
• un trait de vinaigre balsamique ou aromatisé framboise
• une poignée de figues séchées
• une poignée de noisettes décortiquées et grossièrement émincées
• 1 belle noisette de beurre
• 2-3 belles poignées de Batavia, feuille de chêne ou mesclun

Pour la sauce salade:

• 1 cas de moutarde a l’ancienne
• 1 cas de vinaigre de vin rouge ou aromatisé framboise
• sel et poivre du Moulin
• 3-4 cas d’huile végétale

Méthode:

Préparez tous les ingrédients pour n’avoir plus qu’à les assembler avant de servir :

– lavez et séchez la salade,

– émincez les radis dans le sens de la longueur et plongez-les dans de l’eau froide pour qu’ils gardent leur croquant, versez-les dans une passoire 5 minutes avant l’assemblage,

– taillez les figues en 4 ou en petits dés si elles sont plus grosses,

–  décortiquez les noisettes et prenez soin de ne pas laisser de morceaux de coquilles, faites fondre une noisette de beurre dans une poêle et colorez les noisettes pour qu’elles développent leurs saveurs et prennent une belle teinte dorée, gardez-les de côté dans un bol,

– dans la même poêle ou pas, à froid ou à chaud, disposez les tranches de magret de canard en une seule couche et faites les frire 3-4 minutes, retournez-les et laissez-les frire 1-2 minutes sur l’autre face. Si il y a beaucoup de gras, débarrasser l’essentiel puis déglacer la poêle avec un trait de balsamique ou de vinaigre aromatisé à la framboise. Les magrets sont toujours dans la poêle. Réservez hors du feu.

– dans un petit bol, préparez la sauce en mixant tous les ingrédients et en ajustant les saveurs selon votre goût.

– lorsque vous êtes prêt à servir, disposer une première couche de salade sur un plat de présentation et parsemez la surface avec les noisettes, les radis, les figues et les magrets, versez de la sauce salade et recommencez le processus pour les couches suivantes.

Cette salade est encore plus savoureuse lorsque les magrets et les noisettes sont encore tièdes au moment de la servir.

Radish and Broad Beans Salad with Giant Couscous

As you all know by now, I am fond of Yotam Ottolenghi’s way of cooking. He’s never afraid of mixing spices and odd ingredients in order to create tasty and colorful dishes.

As spring time brings us back tasty greens and peppery radishes, it is just the right time to write about that salad.

As usual, I slightly adapt the recipe. Today, there’s nothing really different except for the fact that I add wholewheat giant couscous to make it more consistent. As a consequence, I do not serve the salad with Pita bread. I just find it healthier, different and also perfect if you want to prepare it for your lunch box!

I also use giant couscous because it recently became my new favorite ingredients as an alternative to couscous, bulghur, pasta, rice and other ingredients that we are used to cook and sometimes bored with. The giant couscous has that perfect round shape and funny consistency once cooked that makes it different and makes your salad more interesting for a change.

If you never tried it, give it a chance and if you like it as much as me, use it hot or cold, with pesto dressing, grilled vegetables, nuts, dried fruits, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, fennel and as many spices as you like!

Ingredients for 4 people

• 200g of wholewheat giant couscous
• 500g shelled broad beans, fresh or frozen*
• 350g small radishes
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander
• 1/2 preserved lemon, finely chopped
• juice of 2 lemons
• 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 200ml Green tahini sauce (see below)
• salt and black pepper

Ingredients for the Green tahini sauce**

• 150ml tahini paste
• 150ml water
• 80ml lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 30g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped if making by hand

Method for the Green Tahini Sauce

In a bowl, thoroughly whisk the Tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic and salt together. The mixture should be creamy and smooth. If it is too thick, add more water. Stir in the chopped parsley, then taste and add more salt if needed.

If using a food processor or a blender, process together all the ingredients except the parsley until smooth. Add more water if needed. Add the parsley and turn the machine on again for a second or two. Taste for seasoning.

Method for the Salad

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil and cook the giant couscous for 7-9 minutes depending the instructions on the box. Drain in a colander and place under cold running water to get it cold and stop it from further cooking. Drizzle a little olive oil on top and set aside.

Place the broad beans in a pan of boiling water and simmer for 1–2 minutes, depending on size. Drain through a large colander and rinse in plenty of cold water to refresh them. Remove the beans from their skins by gently squeezing each one with your fingertips.

Cut the radishes into slices 1-2mm and mix them with the giant couscous, broad beans, onion, coriander, preserved lemon, lemon juice, parsley, olive oil and cumin. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, pile a mound of salad in a small deep plate or bowl, drizzle with a tbsp of Tahini sauce and sprinkle some chopped herbs on top. Pour the remaining Tahini sauce in a bowl and leave it on the table for your guests.

Yotam’s advices for that recipe:*Most beans, especially the ones sold frozen, are perfectly fine eaten with the skin on. So if you prefer to skip the skinning stage, cook them for a minute longer. You’ll lose a bit of the light, ‘bouncy’ texture but save yourself a lot of time.

**The sauce should be thick but runny, almost like honey. Once chilled it will thicken, so you will need to whisk it again and possibly add more water.