Platters to spin
Salads are More Than Leaves by Elena Silcock features more than 80 recipes for salads to get excited about. Photography by Chloe Hardwick.
Duck and orange
SERVES 4
Ingredients
• Thumb-sized chunk of fresh root ginger
• 4 duck breasts
• 1 teaspoon five-spice powder
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 large cucumber
• ½ bunch spring onions
• 1 small bunch coriander
• 2 Little Gem lettuces
• 100g rocket or watercress
• 2 oranges
• salt
For the chilli and lime dressing:
• 1 tbsp chilli sauce
• Juice 1-2 limes
• 4 tblsp oil
• 1 tblsp soya sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• Sal & pepper
For the toppers:
• a few coriander leaves
Vegan substitute:
Swap the duck for jackfruit, tossing it in the five-spice powder and cooking it in sesame oil with soy and hoisin sauces.
Get ahead:
Make the dressing in advance. Cook and shred the duck up to 24 hours in advance, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, just add the duck to the hot frying pan and crisp up as in step 2.
METHOD
Whisk up the dressing in a large mixing bowl. Peel the ginger and slice into matchsticks (or grate), then add to the dressing and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas Mark 6. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat. Toss the duck breasts in the fivespice and season with a pinch of salt, then add to the pan, skin-side down, and cook for 5-6 minutes until the skin is crispy. Transfer to a baking tray, brush with the hoisin sauce and roast for 10 minutes. Set aside to rest. Meanwhile, cut the cucumber in half lengthways, then use a spoon to scrape down and remove the fleshy seeds.
Slice the cucumber into half moons, finely slice the spring onions and add to the dressing along with most of the coriander leaves. Separate the leaves of the lettuces – if they look at all dirty, wash in iced water and spin to dry – add to the bowl, along with the rocket and watercress and toss it all together. Tip onto a platter. Slice the duck into 1cm slices and add to the salad.
Peel the oranges, removing as much of the white pith as possible. Slice into rounds or segments. Snuggle the orange pieces into the salad. Finish with a pinch of salt, and top with the remaining coriander leaves.
Fig and feta
SERVES 4
Ingredients
• 12 figs
• 1 tablespoon clear honey
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
• 2 Little Gem lettuces or heads of radicchio or endive
• ½ small bunch mint
• ½ small bunch flat leaf parsley
• 100g pomegranate seeds
• 120g pitted black olives
• 200g feta cheese
• salt and pepper
For the tahini dressing:
• 3 tblsp tahini
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• Salt & pepper
For the toppers:
• 30g sesame seeds
• a few herbs
Vegan substitute:
Swap the honey for maple syrup and use vegan fetastyle “cheese” or omit.
Get ahead:
Roast the figs up to two hours in advance and keep at room temperature. Toast the sesame seeds and make the dressing in advance.
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas Mark 4. Line a baking tray with foil. Halve the figs and place them, cut-side up, on the lined tray.
Drizzle with the honey and one tablespoon of the oil, then season with salt and pepper and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside for about 10 minutes until cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, toast the sesame seeds. Whisk up the dressing in a bowl. Whisk the remaining oil with the pomegranate molasses in a separate large mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper. Separate the leaves of the lettuces – if they look at all dirty, wash in iced water and spin to dry – and add to the bowl of oil and pomegranate molasses. Pull the herb leaves from the stems and add most of them to the bowl along with the pomegranate seeds and olives. Toss the ingredients together to combine, then pile on to a platter.
Break the feta into rough chunks and nestle into the salad along with the roasted figs. Mix the dressing ingredients togeher and keep adding spashes of water until a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over the salad and top with the toasted sesame seeds and the remaining herb leaves.
Thai larb
SERVES 4
Ingredients
• 2 banana shallots
• 2 garlic cloves
• Thumb-sized chunk of fresh root ginger
• 1 lemon grass stalk
• 1 red chilli
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or sunflower oil
• 500g minced pork – get the fattiest you can find!
• ½ bunch spring onions
• 1 cucumber
• 3 Little Gem lettuces
• ½ small bunch coriander
• ½ small bunch mint
• ½ small bunch Thai basil (optional)
• 1 lime
• salt and pepper
For the dressing:
• Chilli and lime plus two tablespoons fish sauce
For the toppers:
• 4 tablespoons Thai sticky rice (or jasmine rice),
• a few herb leaves
Vegan substitute:
Swap the minced pork for minced tofu and omit the fish sauce.
Get ahead:
Toast and blitz the rice up to a week in advance, then store in an airtight container, if using. Make the dressing in advance.
METHOD
If making the toasted rice topper, put the rice in a dry frying pan and toast over a medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes until it turns a dark golden colour and smells like popcorn. Put into a blender and blitz to a coarse powder. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Whisk up the dressing in a large mixing bowl along with the fish sauce. Peel the shallots, garlic and ginger, and roughly slice the lemon grass and red chilli. Add all to the blender or a mini chopper and blitz to a coarse paste. Set aside. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the minced pork and use a spatula to break it up a little. Fry for 15 minutes until cooked through and golden in places. Add the paste and fry for 5-7 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat. Add a big splash of the dressing along with a generous pinch of salt. Stir well and set aside.
Slice the spring onions and dice the cucumber into about 1cm cubes, then add both to the bowl of dressing. Separate the leaves of the lettuces and add them to the bowl. Pull the herb leaves from the stems and add most of them to the bowl. Toss, taste and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to plates with the crispy pork mixture and top with the toasted rice, if using, and remaining herb leaves. Cut the lime into wedges and serve on the side.
■ Salads are More Than Leaves by Elena Silcock Hamlyn, £20.