Super Recipe – Warm Quinoa Kale Salad with Mushroom & Duck

Here’s a super heartwarming dish for the festive season. Ingredients: Kale, Quinoa and Duck Salad

• 2 cups quinoa, dry
• 4 cup water
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 duck legs (optional, or you can replace it with another protein)
• 2 tbsp of salt to season the duck
• 2 tbsp of pepper to season the duck
• 2 bunches of Kale or approximately 5 cups chopped very small
• ½ cup mushrooms (sliced)

• ¼ cup olive oil
• ½ cup of orange marmalade
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp honey
• ¼ cup peeled oranges cut into cubes

1. Start by pricking the duck legs with a fork, then rub salt, pepper and olive oil all over. This will not only allow the duck to absorb the seasoning better but it also helps to make the duck skin crispy after cooking.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Pat the duck legs dry and place skin-side-down in a frying pan, over high heat. Fry until the skin is crisp and golden. This should take around 5-7 minutes.
3. After the skin is crispy, turn the duck legs skin-side-up and bake in the oven for one and a half hours.
4. Combine 4 cups of water with 2 cups of quinoa in a pot and bring to a boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until desired texture (10 minutes for slightly crunchy and 15 minutes for soft and fluffy).
5. While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the kale. After washing the kale, blanche in a pot of salted boiling water for 3-5 seconds. Immediately transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking process.
6. Set aside the Kale.
7. Heat a pan on medium heat, drizzle some olive and stir-fry your mushroom for 3 minutes. Season with some salt.
8. Mix your cooked Quinoa with your Kale and Mushroom.
9. Make your orange marmalade dressing by combining all the ingredients and mix well.
10. When your duck is ready, use a pair of tongs and a fork to remove the meat from the bone.
11. Combine your Kale and Quinoa mixture with your marmalade dressing and shredded duck meat.
12. The Kale and Quinoa is the heart of the dish, making it extremely satisfying and nutritious. Along with the savoury mushroom, sweet and refreshing orange marmalade makes the perfect combination.  Not forgetting duck meat which adds tons of flavours, an optional protein that can be replaced or left out, but adds tons of flavour. This dish is a definite crowd pleaser.