Duck breast with a walnut and pear pasta salad

This dish was custom made her my mom, combining all sorts of her favourite foods and incorporating it into one dish. Which ended up becoming a luxurious pasta salad with a bed of arugula and shredded, sautéed cabbage with al dente cooked pasta, for some sweetness a ripe, juice pear, and as a star of the show; seared, sweet duck breast with thyme. To bend everything together a generous drizzle of a walnut, balsamic vinaigrette served lukewarm. It is much less complicated then it might sound once you know how the breast needs to be seared.

Start by heating a skillet and add a nob of butter, a splash of olive oil and some dries thyme. Once the butter has browned add the duck breast skin side down. Make sure the pan is nice and hot. Let it cook for 10 minutes while you start preparing the salad. Shred the red cabbage very fine and sauté on a medium high heat for 10 minutes as well. Make a vinaigrette with the honey, lemon zest, balsamic vinegar, some sea salt and black pepper. Set aside and check your duck. Once the fat has rendered grab the skillet, Base the duck with half of the sauce and place it in an oven preheated at 200 degree. Leave it there for yet another 10 minutes while you start assembling the salad. Start with a bed of lettuce, sprinkle the shredded cabbage on top, add the sliced pear and crumble the walnuts on top. All the colours will combine beautifully on the plate and complement each other harmoniously. Now for the final component turn to your oven. Check if the duck is all the way cooked and slice the breast into thin pieces. Roll them up and place in and around the salad. You will create a playful dish which looks almost professional. Finally drizzle over the remaining half of the sauce and serve with a good merlot. A perfect dish for a celebration.

Ingredients: 125 grams of Duck breast, 125 grams of red cabbage, 100 grams of Arugula, 80 grams of stuffed pasta with walnut, 80 grams of pear, 20 grams of walnuts, 1 lemon, 1 teaspoon of walnut oil, 1 teaspoon of agave syrup, 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar, 1 teaspoon of dried thyme, 1 teaspoon of sea salt