Duck Salad with Aged Cheddar Dressing

I never tire of salads especially those that have interesting ingredients. Eating Peking duck and duck curry are a couple of my favorites but I have to say I have always had these in a restaurant. I did cook a whole duck many, many years ago but really haven’t made any attempt since then to prepare a duck dish. I surfed the web for videos on how to prepare and cook a duck breast to which I found a very easy one by Gordon Ramsay (included below).

Serves 4
recipe adapted from Metro.ca

Salad:
340g (12 oz.) spring mix or spinach
4 cooked duck breasts, thickly sliced (click here for video)
125mL (1/2 cup) green beans, trimmed and blanched
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 avocados, sliced
250ml (1 cup) shredded Old Cheddar cheese

Dressing:
60ml (1/4 cup) milk
60ml (1/4cup) shredded Aged Cheddar
60ml (1/4 cup) 15% cream
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
salt and freshly ground pepper

Dressing: In a saucepan, warm milk over medium heat, add cheese and stir to melt.
Stir in cream and continue cooking for 1 minute. Cool. Stir in honey, olive oil and Dijon mustard; beat until smooth. Stir in cider vinegar and beat again. Add salt, pepper and rosemary.

Divide salad greens evenly among 4 plates. Top with duck, green beans, tomatoes, avocado and cheese. Drizzle with dressing and serve.

The Culinary Chase’s Note: The duck breast was still slightly warm and the cheddar cheese dressing mingled well with the vegetables. We had green beans the night before so I added steamed asparagus in lieu of the beans. This salad is high on the repeat list! Enjoy!