Roast duck & griddled plum salad

• duck legs↗3
• chicken stock↗500ml ml
• pomegranate juice↗500ml ml
• cinnamon stick↗1
• ground cumin↗1 tsp tsp
• ground cinnamon↗½ tsp tsp
• bulgur wheat↗175g g
• plums↗6

  halved and stoned

• olive oil↗1 tbsp tbsp
• green beans↗300g g

  trimmed and halved

• pomegranate↗seeds from 1

  seeds from 1 or 110g tub pomegranate seeds

• red onion↗1

  finely chopped

• toasted flaked almonds↗50g g
• pack feta cheese↗200g g

  crumbled

• flat-leaf parsley↗large bunch

  chopped

• mint↗small bunch

  leaves picked and torn if large

• pomegranate juice↗100ml
• pomegranate molasses↗3 tbsp

  (or 2 tbsp redcurrant jelly plus 1 tbsp lemon juice)

• extra virgin olive oil↗3 tbsp
• preserved lemons2

  middles scooped out and discarded, skins finely sliced

• juice of 2 lemons
• clear honey↗1 tbsp

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Up to 2 days before, sit the duck legs in your slow cooker or a small casserole or baking dish – if you don’t have a slow cooker, heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Pour over the stock and pomegranate juice so that the legs are submerged. Poke in the cinnamon stick, cover with the lid, or tightly with foil, and slow-cook for 4 hrs on High, or in the oven for 2 hrs, until the duck is really tender. Cool in the liquid, then chill until you make the salad.

2. 2

   One hour before you want to start the salad, lift the duck legs from the liquid, pat dry with kitchen paper and sit in a roasting tin to dry out a little.

3. 3

   Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Rub the cumin and cinnamon all over the duck legs with plenty of salt and some ground black pepper, and roast for 15-20 mins. Meanwhile, cook the bulgur wheat following pack instructions, then drain well. Heat a dry griddle pan, brush the halved plums with a little olive oil and griddle for about 5 mins on either side. Set everything aside to cool a little while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

4. 4

   Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the green beans and cook for 2-4 mins until tender but still with some bite. Drain under cold running water to cool.

5. 5

   Whisk together all the dressing ingredients with plenty of seasoning.

6. 6

   When the duck is cool enough to handle, shred the meat and crispy skin from the bones. Transfer to a platter with the roasted plums, pomegranate seeds, red onion, bulgur wheat, green beans, flaked almonds, feta and herbs. Toss everything together gently with the dressing and eat immediately.