Warm Duck Salad

Although I gave this salad a 4, my husband insists it is a 5 and he may be right. I am not much of a raspberry fan (pretty as they are in this salad) and that may have affected my review.

There is a lot to like about this salad. Very easy to do. Duck and oranges -- a classic combination. The toasted pecans add a nice crunch (and I think Smitten Kitchen's candied pecans might be good here too). For me the raspberries added more color than flavor; next time I might try blackberries instead since I prefer them.

The sherry vinaigrette with orange zest worked very well. The recipe called for a mix of baby lettuces and endive. I mixed a bit of mesclun, some frisee, a small romaine heart and one endive and was very happy with the result. We found that one duck breast was enough for two salads.

Finally -- I loved the method of cooking the duck breast -- on a sheet pan skin side up in a 425 oven for 20 minutes. No need to score the skin -- just salt it and in oven it goes. I worried about duck fat spattering the interior of the oven -- but no. No spatter, no smoke, but a really nice aroma coming from the oven. You take it out, cover tightly with foil for 10-15 minutes and then remove the skin and slice the medium-rare duck into slim slices for the salad.