Duck & Wild Rice Salad

And finally, the last dish made from our one little duck. The legs are roasted with 5-spice powder, and tossed with wild rice, pumpkin seeds, apples, and slightly sweet vegetables, then tossed with an orange and sesame dressing. Delicious!

Four servings assumes you are not serving much else - put it on a bed of hydroponic lettuce, and pass some nice bread and butter - but for this to stretch to six servings assumes that other dishes are on the table; a couple of other light and complementary salads, perhaps.

4 to 6 servings
45 minutes prep time
not including the advance cooking

Cook the Duck, the Sweet Potato & the Wild Rice:
the legs from a 2.25 - 2.5 kg (5 pound) duck
2 teaspoons 5-spice powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large sweet potato
1 cup wild rice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups water

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Put the duck legs in a snug, shallow baking tray and sprinkle them with the 5-spice powder and the1/4 teaspoon salt. Poke the sweet potato with a fork in several spots.

Put both in the oven and bake until done; at least an hour to an hour and a quarter. Such are the vagaries of life that the duck legs are likely to be done before the sweet potato. Let both cool and refrigerate until wanted.

Meanwhile, put the wild rice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and water into the rice cooker; turn on and cook. Alternatively, you could put them in a pot, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to very low; cook for about 45 minutes or until tender. Cool and refrigerate the wild rice as well. 

Make the Dressing:
the juice of 1 Meyer lemon
1/4 cup sunflower seed oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon Aleppo or other mildly hot pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon 5-spice powder

Squeeze and strain the Meyer lemon into a jam jar or small mixing bowl, and add the rest of the ingredients. Whisk or shake well.

Finish the Salad:
1/2 cup finely diced peeled celeriac
OR 1 stalk celery
1 large carrot
2 medium apples
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Trim and dice the cold cooked sweet potato. Debone the duck legs, and chop the meat. Toss the sweet potato, duck, and wild rice in a mixing bowl.

Peel and finely dice the celeriac, or trim and finely chop the celery. Peel and grate or finely dice the carrot. Peel, core and dice the apples. Toss the celeriac, carrot, apples, and pumpkin seeds into the salad. Drizzle the dressing over and toss again; transfer to a serving bowl or individual dishes.





Last year at this time I made Braised Guinea Fowl with Carrots & Prunes.

Posted in: Ontario Food