Crunchy south-east Asian-style duck salad

Serves 4 You will need:

4 duck breasts, skin scored

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon jasmine rice, uncooked

2 dried red chillies

2 teaspoons sugar

4 tablespoons lime juice

3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce

1 small cucumber, peeled, deseeded, halved lengthways and cut into

1cm slices

4 red shallots, finely sliced

16 cherry tomatoes, halved

2 red chillies, finely sliced

1 handful baby spinach

1 handful fresh mint leaves

1 handful fresh coriander leaves

2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, ripped

8 spring onions, finely sliced

4 handfuls of delicious salad leaves

1 Score the duck breasts. Use a sharp knife to cut a grid pattern in the fat, but be careful not to cut through the meat. Season them with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then place them, skin-side down, into a frying pan that has not been preheated. Place the frying pan on a low heat for about 10-15 minutes until the skin of the duck breasts is golden brown and the fat has rendered. As the fat renders, pour it out into a bowl or jar (where it’ll keep, covered, in the fridge for about a year) reserving it to use another day for roast potatoes.

2 Flip the duck breasts over, turn up the heat and cook them for a further 3-4 minutes until they are cooked to your liking. Take the pan off the heat and allow the meat to rest and slightly cool while you’re preparing the salad.

3 Heat a dry frying pan, add the uncooked jasmine rice, and toast it until it is golden but not burnt. Grind the rice in a clean coffee-grinder or use a pestle and mortar to pound it to a powder, then set it aside.

4 Reheat the frying pan and add the dried red chillies. Toast them until they are smoky, then grind or pound them to a powder. Combine the chilli powder with the rice powder.

5 In a jug, dissolve the sugar in the lime juice and the Thai fish sauce. In a large bowl, combine the sliced cucumber, the finely sliced shallots, the halved cherry tomatoes, the finely sliced red chillies, the baby spinach, the fresh mint leaves, the fresh coriander leaves, the ripped fresh basil leaves and the finely sliced spring onions. Add the salad leaves, and drizzle over the sugar, lime juice and fish sauce mixture from the jug. Toss gently to combine.

6 Thinly slice the rested duck. Toss the sliced duck and the ground rice and chilli mix through the salad. Transfer to a large plate and serve immediately.