Warm Salad of Duck, Radicchio, Beetroot & Stilton

Bitter radicchio, sweet beetroot, rich duck and salty cheese, this rather fine salad just about covers every flavour sensation you can imagine. Packed full of essential vitamins and minerals, a little of this impressive salad goes a long way. 

Ingredients

A bunch of young beetroots, around 6-8

Extra Virgin olive oil

2 heads of radicchio, cut into wedges

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 Free Range or Organic duck breasts

A few sprigs sage

A knob of Grass Fed butter

A handful of walnuts

A few sprigs of thyme

100g Cropwell Bishop Stilton

Sea salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.

Peel and cut the beetroots into quarters and dress with olive oil and sea salt. Place into a roasting tin and roast in the oven for 15 minutes, until they have softened. 

Remove the beetroots from the oven, add the radicchio wedges, mix together and place back into the oven to roast for a further 10 minutes. Remove the roasting tin from the oven and then pour in the balsamic vinegar, tossing the veg through it. Set to one side.

To prepare the duck, season the breasts generously.

Place a cast iron pan over a medium-high heat and add the duck breasts, skin-side down while the pan is still cool. Once the pan is hot and sizzling the duck, render the fat for 4-5 minutes. Turn the breasts over and cook the flesh for 4 minutes. To the pan add butter and the sage to the pan, allowing it to foam up. Flip the duck back over to the skin side and baste the duck breasts for a further 5 minutes. Remove the duck from the heat and leave to rest for 5-10 minutes. 

In a separate pan, placed over a moderate heat, toss the walnuts with a little olive oil and thyme until just browning and aromatic. Lightly crush the walnuts to release more of thier nutty flavour. 

Cut the duck breasts into thick slices and add to the roasting tin along with the beets and radicchio. Scatter over the walnuts and then crumble in the Stilton. Serve on a pretty platter or in individual bowls.