Duck and watermelon salad

Great for a warm summer day when watermelon is in season. Try a mini watermelon as often this has no/very few seeds so is easier to prepare than its bigger cousins. Inspired by a great meal at Gilgamesh in London, many years ago. Prepare all the cold/fresh ingredients first, then add the duck at the last minute so the salad is served with the duck still warm. If you are having this as a main course, basmati or jasmine rice is a good side dish too soak up the flavours of the juices in the salad.

Try it with some rice to soak up the delicious juices!

Serves: 3-4 as a starter, 2-3 as a main course

Time to prepare/cook: Approximately 15 minutes to prepare the ingredients; 5 to 10 minutes to sit and let the flavours mix well

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Ingredients

• 400g duck – strips are easier, or duck breast also works, just remove the skin and fat

• 1/3 mini watermelon – deseeded

• 1 medium spring onion or ½ red onion

• 1 large tablespoon tamarind paste

• 5 teaspoons hoisin/plum sauce

• 1 teaspoon garlic paste/1-2 cloves crushed garlic

• Juice of half a lime

• Dash of olive oil for cooking

• 2 tablespoons of chopped, fresh mint

• 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh coriander

• 100g of rocket or watercress (maché) or other salad greens/lettuce

Method

• Peel and cut the watermelon into rough 2 cm cubes and put into the salad bowl, removing all seeds

• Chop the spring onion finely and add to the watermelon bowl, along with the lime juice and garlic paste

• Chop the herbs finely and add to the salad bowl

• Fry the duck in a little olive oil until lightly brown on all sides, just cooked through but still moist (slightly pink if you prefer). If using duck breast, before frying, first remove the skin and fat then cut into roughly 2 cm cubes before frying. If using duck strips, fry them whole (they stay moister inside), then when they are cooked just use the spatula to break them into rough pieces. Once cooked, add the duck to the salad bowl

• Quickly add the tamarind and hoisin sauces and mix the salad gently so the sauce lightly covers all the duck and watermelon

• Leave for 30 minutes so the flavours start to blend well – taste a little to see if more sauce/herbs are needed

• Serve on a base of watercress/rocket/green leaves