Take a cheap and easily purchased Chinatown Duck. Peel the skin off, broil till crispy and put over the top of Roasted Beets and Orange in a Honey/Dijon vinaigrette.
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Mother nature is a tease. She dangles the idea of Spring in front of us. Daring us to bravely pull on our cute, newly purchased open-toed shoes, and discard the puffy jacket. Then we spend the commute to work freezing to death, cursing ourselves that we didn't bring a cardigan and why did we chose to wear the oh-so-trendy but ridiculouosly light trench?
Patience is not one of my virtues! I crave strawberries, and rhubarb, leeks and ramps. But patient we must be, until Mother nature moves winter aside and embraces Spring in it's entirety.
I went to the market last weekend and Spring was not yet there. Instead it was Wintery; there were some tough looking rutabago, some chalky black turnips, and last years apples. But I did spy some Beets, and Citrus was still there in abundance. So before I knew it I'd snapped up some candied and regular Beets, a brightly colored Orange and then I headed down to Chinatown for one of those Ducks that hang in the window, all burnished and glistening and crunchy. I bought a half portion.
When I got home, I cut the beets in half and roasted them at 350 degrees with olive oil, sea salt and pepper, then when tender, set them aside. I peeled the duck skin off the Chinatown duck and sprinkled it with salt, and crisped it up alone in a 450 oven for about 6-7 minutes. (Watch it, you don't want it to go too dark!). Then I assembled the salad. I put some shredded Duck, some peeled Orange segments, some roasted Beets and then also finely sliced fresh a Fennel bulb. I drizzled it with an Orange vinaigrette, (1/4 cup of Orange juice, 2 tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar, 1 tablespoon of Dijon, 2 teaspoons of Honey and a little Pepper) toss until well coated, and then topped with hot crispy Duck skin.
A divine (possibly last of Winter!) weekend lunch. Come on Spring!
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Prop stylist: Carla Gonzalez-Hart (Food, recipe, pics by Dimity Jones)