Glorious sunny Sydney the past few days. We’re still in winter but it is like summer already. The weather is just too good not to go outdoors and soak up the sun. Days like this, you just want to spend hours out there and chill. Then you come home and have to prepare dinner … something light and easy would be my option. I love a good salad. Pears are in season and I love adding pear slices to watercress leaves dressed with a very simple mustard, white wine vinegar and olive oil mix. So easy to make, light and yet so satisfying. This salad is good paired with pan-fried potatoes and confit duck legs. Now, confit duck … if you have the time to prepare it, go ahead. But I like making things easy for myself most of the time so I just buy a packet of duck confit legs. I usually get the Game Farm brand, which is available at my local shop, Mr. Gordon. All ready to go, cooked and I just reheat them in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Another good thing about those ready packs of duck confit is you can scoop out a bit of the duck fat to pan-fry your potatoes in. Classic and absolutely awesome flavour combination of duck fat and potatoes. Serve them with the salad and you’re set for a good meal.
Ingredients:
- 4 x duck legs confit
- 8 pieces Kipfler potatoes, halved lengthways, boiled or microwaved until tender
- 400g watercress, trimmed
- 1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 large pear, thinly slice
Method:
- Open packs of duck confit and scoop out fat. Reserve for pan-frying the potatoes.
- Reheat duck confit according to packet instructions.
- On medium heat, add to frying pan the reserved duck fat. Fry potatoes until browned, about 5-6 minutes. Cover to keep warm.
- Prepare salad: Place mustard, vinegar, sugar and oil in a screw-top jar; shake well. Place watercress and pear in a large bowl. Add dressing and gently toss to combine.
- Serve potatoes and salad with duck leg confit.