Cherry, Sugar Snap Pea & Feta Salad
(Optional: serve with duck breasts)
Sweet, salty, minty salad functions as both salad and sauce for seared duck breast
Cherry, sugar snap & feta salad recipe
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
8 oz. Sugar Snap Peas (about 2 cups)
6 oz. Cherries (about 1 cup heaped to overflowing)
2 Scallions
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 Lemon
Olive oil (a few TBS)
A few sprigs fresh mint leaves
Flaky Salt and Ground Pepper to taste
Instructions:
Prepare ingredients: Snap ends off peas, pulling to remove fibrous strings that run up the sides (discard). Slice peas thinly, on the diagonal. Pit cherries and cut them into quarters. Slice scallions thinly, both whites and greens (discard root ends).
Mix: Put peas, cherries, scallions together in a bowl. Squeeze lemon juice and drizzle olive oil to taste (taste as you go). Sprinkle on some salt and pepper to taste. Stir in feta and roughly torn or chopped mint leaves. Taste and add whatever you think brings it into balance.
For Duck:
Pat duck breasts dry and score the fat side with a sharp knife, in a crosshatched pattern. Sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat a skillet large enough to hold duck without crowding and place the duck breasts, fat side down, in the skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, allowing fat to render, until the underside is browned and crisp; should take around 6-8 minutes but duck breasts come in different sizes so it’s an inexact science. Flip over and cook for another 3-4 minutes. For medium or medium rare, the duck breasts should feel yielding when poked with a fingertip. You can also pull back the “tender” flap on the non-fat side for a peek at how the duck is cooking. You’ll see if it’s still pink—which you’ll want it to be for rare or medium rare. When duck is done, allow it to rest around 5 minutes before slicing.
Bonus: fry some parboiled or thinly sliced potatoes in the duck fat that has rendered, salt and pepper them and serve as a delicious, crispy side.