Duck Salad With Spiced Pears And Sweet Soy Dressing - cooking recipe

Ingredients

6 duck breasts
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
3 heads chicory lettuce
1 (85 g) bag watercress
3 1/2 ounces grapeseed oil or 3 1/2 ounces other light oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon light muscovado sugar
1 tablespoon dark sweet soy sauce
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
FOR THE SPICED PEARS
4 -6 medium unripe conference pears
6 ounces unrefined golden caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
6 slices thin fresh ginger
2 -3 pieces pared fresh lemon rind
1 lemon, juice of

Preparation

Heat oven to 400*F.
Prick the skin on each duck fillet with a fork.
Mix the honey and soy sauce and brush all over the duck skins.
Set the duck fillets skin side up on a rack in a baking dish or roasting tin.
Add 2 TBS of cold water to the container and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, the skins should be golden and the meat still a little pink.
Allow to cool.
With a knife tip remove the core from the stalk end of each chicory head, then shred across the leaves in slices.
Separate out the shreds.
Pick over the watercress, discarding stalky bits.
For the dressing, combine the oil, vinegar, sugar and sweet soy sauce and mix well.
Peel the garlic clove and flatten with a knife blade.
Add to the dressing and allow it to flavour the mixture until serving time.
Then scoop out the garlic and add the chopped cilantro.
Meanwhile, prepare the pears.
First choose a pan into which 6 medium size pears will fit snugly so they will be covered with the syrup.
Measure 2 cups cold water into the pan, add the sugar, spices and lemon rind and stir over a low heat to dissolve the sugar.
Peel the pears, leaving them whole with stalks intact.
As each pear is peeled, drop it into the pan.
Replace the pan over the heat and bring to a simmer, half cover with the pan lid and cook pears gently until tender, about 30 to 40 minutes; test with a knife tip.
Add the lemon juice and allow the pears to cool in the syrup before removing them for the duck salad.
To assemble the salad, thinly slice the duck fillets lengthways.
Cut the pears in quarters lengthways.
To serve, scatter the chicory and watercress on a serving platter.
Add the duck and pears, then spoon over the dressing.