Baharat Spiced Duck Breast with Roasted Red Beets Salad and Arugula

Beets salad calls for red beets.

Yellow and stripped beets do not have the same flavour, making the entire dish taste off. We roast our beets in the oven. It makes them taste sweeter than boiled beets. You can boil beets to save about 10 minutes of cooking time. You can also buy fully cooked beets and use them with the same success.

1. Mix Baharat spice, salt and neutral oil.
2. Score the duck skin with a sharp knife.
3. Rub the duck on both sides with the Baharat spice mixture and transfer it to a large plate. Refrigerate the duck uncovered overnight.
4. Put the uncooked beets in the oven-proof dish and cover it with foil.
5. Preheat your oven to 400° Fahrenheit. Cook beets in the oven until they can be easily pierced with a knife. Set the beets aside.
6. Follow the method for preparing roasted red beets and mayo salad here. Set aside the finished salad till ready to plate.
7. Make sure your oven is preheated to 400° F before you begin cooking the duck.
8. Heat an oven-proof fry pan to medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the duck, skin side down. Cook for 5 – 7 minutes until the skin is brown and looks crispy.
9. Place the duck into the oven for another 7 -10 minutes to cook.
10. While the duck cooks in the oven, slice the remaining beets into 8 slices. Set aside.
11. Very gently toss arugula, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and sliced beets.
12. Remove the duck from the oven and let it sit for a minute before covering it loosely with foil. Let it rest while you plate the salads.
13. If you have balsamic vinegar or fig glaze, drizzle it over the salads and on the plate for an extra dash of flavour and presentation.

• Let the duck breast come to room temperature before you begin to cook it.
• Scoring the duck skin and fat provides more surface area for the fat to render, so the skin crisps and develops a gorgeous deep golden colour and crisp texture.
• It is also key to start cooking the breast skin side down.
• We recommend using an ovenproof fry plan to make the duck. If you do not have one available, move the seared duck breast to any roasting pan to finish the duck in the oven.
• Pour off any accumulated fat as the duck sears on the stove top. Scoop it up with a spoon and set it aside till it cools down and can be safely disposed of.
• Cooking time depends on whether you like your meat to be cooked to a medium rare or medium, as well as the size of the duck breast.
  • The standard recommendation for cooking duck breast is to cook it to no more than a medium rare.
  • We prefer our duck medium. The oven temperature and cooking time guidance provided in the recipe is for a medium-cooked duck. For medium rare, reduce oven temperature to 375 F and cooking time to 5 minutes.
• Make ahead! Roasted beets can keep in the fridge for up to three days. The key is not to peel beets until you are ready to use them. Refrigerate the roasted and cooled beets in a container with a tight-fitted lid. This will prevent them from drying out.
• You can make the roasted red beets and mayo salad ahead too. The prepared salad will keep in the fridge for up to three days.