Marinated Duck Salad with Bulghur Wheat Recipe

Instructions

• 1

  Take a large mixing bowl and put 150 g bulgur wheat. Pour in boiling water until the bulgur wheat is thoroughly covered. Set it aside to soak for approximately 25 to 30 minutes.
• 2

  Meanwhile, grab the 4 small boneless duck breasts and gently remove all the possible fat and skin from them with a sharp knife.
• 3

  Place the duck breast pieces in a bowl and add in half of the chili powder, garlic, basil and cumin.
• 4

  Top the ingredients with the zest and juice of one fresh orange. Pour in juice of ½ lemon and ½ tablespoon of olive oil.
• 5

  Pick a large spoon or fork and mix all the ingredients thoroughly until incorporated well and the duck pieces coated completely. Cover the bowl and set it aside at room temperature until the duck breast pieces marinate completely.
• 6

  Now, it is the time to prepare the kumquats - edible fruit closely resembling an orange. Place 16 kumquats in colander, rinse them, and drain thoroughly until dry. Now, pick a sharp knife and cut a small slit in each of the kumquat.
  
  Note: Make sure not to cut the kumquats all the way through.
• 7

  Gently place all the kumquats in a large non-sticking sauce pan and pour in juice of 1 fresh orange. Top the orange juice-mixture with 1½ tablespoon of sugar and 175 ml of water. Place the saucepan on a stove and bring it to boil.
• 8

  Once it starts boiling, slow down the heat of the stove to medium range and gently simmer the mixture for 15 to 20 minutes, spinning the kumquats time to time in order to make sure that they cook evenly. Remove the saucepan from heat once the kumquats are soft and the liquid has reduced to almost half. Set the mixture in the saucepan aside for a few minutes until cool well.
• 9

  Get back to the soaked bulgur wheat; drain it completely and place it back into the bowl. Add in the thinly sliced spring onions and the remaining of chili powder, garlic, basil, cumin, orange juice and lemon juice. Pour in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and three tablespoon of finely chopped fresh coriander. Season this mixture to taste and set aside.
• 10

  Take a non-stick frying pan and place it on a stove over high heat. Add in the marinated breast pieces of duck and cook them for approximately 4 to 5 minutes or until brown from all sides. Make sure to turn the breast pieces frequently while cooking them.
  
  Note: You can replace the non-stick frying pan with a ridged cast-iron grill pan.
• 11

  Remove the duck breast pieces from heat and place them on a cutting or carving board. Wait for a few minutes until they are cool to handle. Now, slice them very thinly against the grain.
• 12

  Pick four medium serving platters and arrange the fresh salad leaves and remaining basil on them.
• 13

  Now, place four kumquats on the bed of salad leaves in each serving platter and drizzle them with remaining olive oil, kumquat cooking liquid, and the balsamic vinegar.
• 14

  Set a portion of the bulgur wheat salad in the centre of each serving platter and put together the cooked duck breast slices around it nicely.
• 15

  Scatter finely diced fresh cucumber and tomato slices and serve the salad straight away.