Deep-fried crispy duck egg with duck confit salad

I am loving the new series of Great British Food Revival. To see Michel Roux Jr championing the British pear or John Torode telling us passionately about  Aberdeen Angus & longhorn beef. It  all is mouthwatering stuff. But there was one recipe that immediately shouted out to me: MAKE ME, MAKE ME. And here it is: James Martin’s deep-fried crispy duck egg with duck confit salad. I have “borrowed” this recipe from the BBC website, but made a few tweaks.

The duck egg with it rich yolk really makes it extra delicious. The original recipe also called for a handful each of coriander & peashoots, but I left these out. Coriander because I detest it, pea shoots because I couldn't find any.

For the duck leg confit

1 duck leg (or if making this for a main course, 1 duck leg per person)

Sea salt

A couple of sprigs of thyme

Duck fat

For the cripsy duck egg

2 tbsp of white wine vinegar

sea salt

5 free-range duck egg

freshly ground black pepper

115g/4oz plain flour

200g/7oz fresh breadcrumbs

vegetable oil for deep-frying

For the duck confit salad

125ml/4fl oz rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp sugar

2 large shallots, finely sliced

100g/3½oz cherries, stoned (in November cherries are not in season, so I used 100g of plums

2 tbsp sherry vinegar

50ml/2fl oz extra virgin olive oil

50g/1¾oz frisée lettuce

small punnet fresh cress

1 ready-made confit duck leg, meat picked from the bone and roughly chopped

4 slices streaky bacon, cooked until crisp between two baking sheets

Preparation method

The day before, weigh the duck leg(s) and sprinkle with the thyme and sea salt (15 gr per 1 kg of duck)

The next day wipe the salt of the duck legs and slowly cook them in the duck fat for about 2,5 hours. Leave to cool in the fat.

For the crispy eggs, bring a large pot of water to the boil and add the vinegar and a pinch of salt. Set a bowl of iced water alongside. Boil four of the eggs in the water for exactly five minutes then remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to the bowl of iced water.

Crack the remaining egg into a bowl and whisk in a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the flour and breadcrumbs in separate bowls and season each with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Peel the cooled boiled eggs. Gently dredge each one in the flour until evenly coated, and then dip into the beaten egg and roll in the breadcrumbs to coat. Chill in the fridge until ready to cook. Reserve the remaining breadcrumbs.

Meanwhile, for the salad, place the rice wine vinegar, sugar and a pinch of salt into a pan and bring to the boil. Pour over the shallots and cherries and set aside to cool.

For the dressing, pour the sherry vinegar and olive oil into a jug and whisk. Place the salad leaves into a large bowl and flake in pieces of the duck confit. Strain off the shallots and cherries, add them to the salad with the dressing and mix well. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Just before serving, heat the vegetable oil in a deep-fat fryer to 180C/350F. Roll the chilled eggs in another layer of breadcrumbs, then deep-fry until golden-brown. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Remove the eggs from the oil with a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with a little salt.

Place the dressed salad onto plates in little nests, cut one crispy egg open at the top and place in the centre of each nest. Cut the bacon into small pieces, scatter it around the egg and serve with a little more dressing poured around.

Serves 4 as a starter