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Cherries with salad greens and roasted duck

14/12/2014

23 Comments

 
Whoa there big fella...  put the brakes on a little will ya! I mean, what the heck happened to November, much less December? We're ticking days off the calendar before we can blink, and Christmas is just ten days away. Woot!

Cherries with salad greens and roasted duck

Somehow, December crept up on us at The Blue House, and now life is suddenly crazy busy. We haven't put the tree up yet, and our Christmas cards are still waiting to be posted. Present-shopping has only just begun and there are dinner parties to attend almost every other evening. The garden needs attention and my kitchen bench has undergone some sort of explosion, with cook's tools and ingredients for edible-gift-making from one end to the other. Get the picture? Same thing happening at yours, or do you have it all under precision control, my lovely friends?   ヽ(•́o•̀)ノ
Bowl of cherries on blue by Good Things
At times like this, it's good to step back, relax and take a few breaths. Meals times and entertaining need not be stressful, particularly when one has access to some beautifully fresh summer produce, such as cherries and salad greens. 

The recipe I'm sharing with you is a simple, yet inspired, summer dish of cherries with salad greens and roasted duck a la Nigel Slater or Jamie Oliver. It serves two as a light meal or four as an entree. Enjoy.

CHERRIES WITH SALAD GREENS AND ROASTED DUCK
1-2 roasted duck legs (approximately 200g each), sliced into bite sized morsels*
salad greens/mesclun with snow pea sprouts, baby spinach leaves (four handfuls), washed, patted dry
12 baby green beans, washed and sliced
250g fresh cherries, washed, sliced in half, de-stoned

Arrange the salad greens, snow pea spouts, baby spinach leaves and sliced (raw) green beans in a serving bowl. Decorate with the cherry halves and set aside to chill, while the duck is cooking (or while you are slicing your store bought duck). When you are ready to serve, arrange the morsels of duck meat with skin on and around the salad, then season and dress and serve the dish immediately.

For the dressing:
I used a blood plum finishing vinegar mixed with extra virgin olive oil and seasoned the salad with sea salt and pepper. The blood plum vinegar, with the cherries, helps to cut the richness of the duck. You could add a little mustard or use Balsamic if preferred. 

*Buy fresh duck and cook your own; or purchase some roasted duck from your favourite Asian grocery store. To cook from scratch, preheat your oven to 180-190 degrees C. Place the duck legs skin side down in a preheated cast iron pan over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Turn them over and sear the meat for a minute or two. Next, place the legs skin side up on a baking tray and pop them into the oven for up to 45 minutes until they are cooked to perfection. Allow the meat to rest before slicing. (And keep any fat for cooking potatoes!).


So tell me, dear readers...  how are you plans for the festive season coming along? Is your tree already up? And what's cooking in your kitchen?
My cherries have come from the kindly folks at Cherry Hill Orchards in Victoria, with another box delivered fresh to my door from Farmhouse Direct. There have also been some beauties at the Capital Region Farmers Market, held every Saturday morning just minutes from my home. In fact, I'm munching on them right now! 

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Vibrant greens and reds in this salad of cherries with roasted duck by Good Things

Cherries with salad greens and roasted duck

A simple yet inspired summer dish... 

Removing stones from cherries with a paring knife
Fresh cherries with salad greens and roasted duck
23 Comments
Laura (Tutti Dolci) link
13/12/2014 05:19:01 pm

I miss fresh cherries, what a wonderful idea to add them to a salad!

Reply
Padaek link
13/12/2014 06:04:47 pm

Love the look of this healthy and tasty salad. Love Christmas cherries. :)

Reply
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella link
13/12/2014 09:00:11 pm

We are all about cherries at the moment too! I had some gorgeous spiced cherries on the weekend too that I want to recreate!

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Maureen | Orgasmic Chef link
14/12/2014 02:43:56 am

That's a smashing salad. I LOVE cherries in a salad. I had one tonight but it wasn't fancy with duck in it. :)

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Francesca link
14/12/2014 07:41:15 am

A lovely salad, great combination of ingredients.

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Amanda link
14/12/2014 08:47:53 am

Rocketing towards Xmas with very little control here, too, Liz. Although I gave up on Xmas cards years ago & still think it the best thing I did. Almost all of the presents sorted and now working on the food and REALLY looking forward to a break!

Reply
Liz OHara link
14/12/2014 10:03:03 am

Yes, it sounds exactly like my life, way too hectic. And I love this post although we don't have fresh cherries right now, I bet they are delicious with the duck. Great salad.

Reply
Muppy
14/12/2014 10:05:54 am

I love cherry recipes - beautiful Lizzy

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e / dig in hobart link
14/12/2014 10:09:38 am

look at your beautiful cherries! mum and I picked a few early ones from dad's tree yesterday - not quite ready yet - for Christmas, hopefully, in ten days' time!

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Maryanne link
14/12/2014 11:32:03 am

Me too, finally put the tree up on the weekend. Enjoying your blog in between several batches of beeswax candles. The salad looks so refreshing, light & yummy, just what my waistline needs!

Reply
Elizabeth link
14/12/2014 12:01:43 pm

I just ordered my cherries from farm house direct... so excited and I think I might just have to make this delicious salad! Thanks so much for sharing! Liz xx

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John link
14/12/2014 12:02:14 pm

Cherries and duck pair so well, don't they? This looks magnificent -- loads of flavor, and so healthy! I can't believe December is almost half over -- this year is nearly gone! Anyway, good post -- thanks.

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Krista link
14/12/2014 03:16:24 pm

I haven't done a blooming thing for Christmas, Liz. :-) But I think this year just needs to be small and quiet and that's OK. We've got good food planned and days for board games, movies, and books. This dish sounds fantastic. I'm always interested in good duck dishes since we have so many!! :-)

Reply
Mandy link
14/12/2014 06:35:05 pm

This time of year is always so incredibly busy - hope you get it all sorted out soon Lizzy.
I absolutely love your salad - I am salivating and can almost taste it.
Have a wonderful and happy week ahead.
:-) Mandy xo

Reply
Rosa link
14/12/2014 11:37:05 pm

A beautiful and unique salad! This combination sounds wonderful.

Cheers,

Rosa

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Karen (Back Road Journal) link
15/12/2014 02:02:49 am

I hope you got some of your Christmas project accomplished over the weekend. Cherries and duck make such a wonderful combination and your salad looks great.

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Hotly Spiced link
15/12/2014 08:46:09 pm

I do love the look of this dinner and it would be fantastic on a hot night. Christmas has certainly crept up on my too and I'm finding I'm stressing at the feeling of being way behind. Every year I say, 'If only I had one more week'. I don't know why I don't start a week earlier! xx

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InTolerant Chef link
15/12/2014 09:03:54 pm

Looks yummy indeed Liz! I have a duck in the freezer that needs roasting and this looks perfect for a light meal. I'm all set for Christmas, just need to make a pavlova base next week and I'm all done. Four trees are up, groceries stocked, presents wrapped- now time to relax! :)

Reply
kellie@foodtoglow link
16/12/2014 02:59:00 am

Massively jealous of those pretty local cherries! A gorgeous salad, especially as it is so simple but with brilliantly complementing ingredients.

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David link
17/12/2014 02:21:04 am

Oh, how I envy your stone fruit season! Of course, I can't complain as we are deep into citrus season! I think I might make this with orange segments! Your greens are absolutely gorgeous!

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Amanda @ Gourmanda link
18/12/2014 03:45:59 pm

Mmm, the sweet cherries would be such a nice addition to a duck salad!

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Maureen | Orgasmic Chef link
1/1/2016 06:19:37 am

I love this salad. The cherries this year are so good - as sweet as candy. This would be a perfect summer meal for us.

Is life moving faster or am I just getting slower at getting things done? I can't wait for John's eye bubble to go away so he can get back to work and I can have a life. It seems like he's been one-eyed for years, not just 6 weeks. :)

Reply
Andrea
18/1/2018 04:20:12 pm

Wow! What an awesome combination! Love cherries and always wondered what to do with duck, thank you Liz! Xx

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    Photo of Liz Posmyk, Food Writer, Cook and Traveller

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