Duck has to be one of my favorite birds because it’s one of the few you can treat like a red meat. You’ll never see me have a pink chicken breast on the site, but you’ll also never see me post a gray slice of duck. This yakitori duck salad with rocket and figs showcases duck cooked in the standard French way, but cooled and brushed with a traditional Japanese yakitori tare.
The other main ingredient is figs. For this salad I am using Violette de Bordeaux figs which are one of my favorite varieties. Because they are quite sweet I added the walnuts toasted, but not candied. I’m a fan of candied walnuts like in my ROQUEFORT AND CANDIED WALNUT SALAD WITH GRAPEFRUIT VINAIGRETTE, however this time I thought toasted was the better choice.
I’m cooking the duck breast here the same way I did for my DUCK BREAST WITH PLUM SAUCE. Before you begin, turn your oven to 200 Celsius. In a cold pan add the duck breast (that has been heavily salted on both sides) skin side down. Put the flame on low and work on rendering the duck fat. Once little bubbles start appearing around the edges of the skin you can slowly raise the heat. Check the skin, when it is golden brown flip the duck and sear the other side for one minute.
Place the skin side down again and pop the whole pan in the oven for 5 minutes. When done, remove the duck breast and let rest on a cutting board while building the rest of the salad. If you wanted to make a main dish out of this duck instead of a salad, there are plenty of duck recipes that are sure to impress!
The base greens are rocket and spinach so add about 125 grams total to a bowl. Slice up two figs and add those in, along with a cup of toasted walnuts. Then finish with a sprinkling of black sesame seeds. The salad dressing is simple: 50 ml Olive Oil, 25 ml Balsamic Glassa, 25 ml Water, 1 tsp Salt, 1 tsp Black Pepper, 1 tbsp Lemon Juice, 2 tsp Dijon Mustard, and a pinch of sugar. Whisk that together and toss with the salad.
The yakitori tare is a simple yet authentic Japanese condiment. I use the same recipe here as I did for my TSUKUNE (JAPANESE CHICKEN MEATBALLS) | つくね which is my absolute favorite izakaya snack. Just add equal parts of sugar, soy sauce, mirin, and water and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. This recipe only uses a little of it, but you can save any extra for more recipes. Slice the duck thinly with the skin side down for easier cutting. Then use a pastry brush to spread over a layer of tare.
Compose the salad, garnish with a sprinkling of more black sesame seeds, and enjoy!
Yakitori Duck Salad With Rocket And Figs
Equipment
- Pan
- Oven
- Knife
- Bowl
Ingredients
- 125 grams Rocket or a mix of rocket and spinach
- 1 Duck Breast skin on
- 1 cup Walnuts toasted
- 2 Figs I used violette de bordeaux which are my favorite. Sliced
- 2 tbsp Black Sesame Seeds
For The Yakitori Tare
- 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Mirin
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Water
Salad Dressing
- 50 ml Olive Oil
- 25 ml Balsamic Glassa
- 25 ml Water
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper freshly cracked
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 pinch Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 Celsius
- In a cold pan place the duck skin side down. Put the flame on the lowest setting. When the fat begins to bubble around the edges turn the heat up slightly. As more fat gets released continue increasing the heat. Check the skin, when it is golden brown then flip over and cook the other side for 1 minute.
- Flip the breast back to skin side down and place in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and let rest on a cutting board as you do everything else.
- In a bowl add the rocket and other greens, along with the walnuts, sliced figs, and black sesame seeds.
- In a small bowl whisk together the sauce ingredients. Pour sauce over the salad and give everything a good toss.
- To make the yakitori tari just add all ingredients to a saucepan and simmer for a few minutes until reduced.
- Slice the duck breast into thin slices. Use a pastry brush to spread the tare over the sliced duck breast, then place the slices on the salad
- Garnish with a sprinkling of black sesame seeds and enjoy!
Notes
