"Tom, get your plane right on time.
I know your part'll go fine.
Fly down to Mexico.
Da-n-da-da-n-da-n-da-da and here I am,
The only living boy in New York"
—Simon and Garfunkel
POPPY SEED + SMOKED DUCK = 'POPPY-COCK' (SALAD)
The fatty richness of duck is cut with the addition of clean raw slices of cucumber, sweetened with dried apricots, and then taken up a notch with a few shakes of bright nutty poppy seeds. (Not just for bagels).
Slice 3 smoked duck breasts (I got mine from Marlow and Daughters). Add about a half cup of sliced dried apricots. Peel a cucumber, spoon out the line of seeds in the middle and slice thin. Douse the cucumber slices in a white vinegar/sugar mixture. Add a small handful of finely sliced fresh Mint to the mixture and then sprinkle heavily with poppy seeds.
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Poppycock Photograph: Squire Fox, Props: Tara Marino. (Food styling/concept: Dimity Jones)