We gobbled this up a few nights ago. It's actually Julia's variation on her own Warm Duck Salad, which I'll post below along with her other variations.
The salad dressing is amazing. I use it a lot on its own and I've posted a favorite duck menu in the Menus section that calls for it. It's also a nice dip for crudites.
SWEET AND SOUR DRESSING:
for about 3/4 cup
1-1/2 Tbs. finely minced shallots or scallions
2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbs. wine vinegar or raspberry vinegar
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1 Tbs. sweet-and-sour sauce, such as Chinese plum sauce or hoisin, or minced chutney
1/2 cup light virgin olive oil
Droplets of dark sesame oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Whisk together the shallots or scallions, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, and sauce or chutney in a small bowl. By droplets, to make an emulsion, whisk in the olive oil. Season to taste with sesame oil, salt and pepper. (If made ahead, cover and set aside at room temperature. Stir up if necessary before using.)
PORK TENDERLOIN SALAD:
for 4 main course servings, or 6-8 first course servings
Sufficient tender frizzy lettuce leaves (curly endive) or romaine leaves cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. (I used mixed baby lettuce with Belgian endive and radicchio.)
Sliced bell peppers of various colors, or cherry tomatoes, optional
2 pork tendereloins
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp. allspice
A spoonful or two of light virgin olive oil
The preceding dressing
Equipment: A rubber mallet or other pounding instrument; a wok or a large no-stick skillet
Wash and dry the salad greens and turn them into a large bowl. Add the peppers or tomatoes if you're using them
Trim the pork tenderloins and cut into 1-inch crosswise chunks. Pound between pieces of plastic wrap, widening them almost double. Slice into strips about 1/4-inch wide. Dust lightly with salt, pepper and allspice.
Set the wok or skillet over high heat, add enough oil for stir-frying to the wok, or to film the bottom of the frying pan. When very hot but not smoking, stir in the meat, tossing and turning almost constantly for 3 to 4 minutes., until the meat begins to browm lightly and is just cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in 3 to 4 tablespoons of the dressing, enough to coat it nicely.
Toss the salad greens with just enough of the remaining dressing to coat. Arrange on plates, top with the pork, and serve.
VARIATIONS:
WARM DUCK SALAD:
Ingredients for the pork salad, substituting 4 raw duck leg-thighs for the pork
Warm duck cracklings*, optional
Peel the skin and any clinging fat off the duck legs. Cut the meat from the bone as neatly as possible. Pound out as above, and cut into lengthwise slice 1/4-inch thick. Season as above and cook until browned and just a little inside, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve as above, spinkled with the cracklings if you're using them.
(I've only make this with duck once, before I learned to make confit from duck legs. I would make it again with a seared skin-on duck breast, sliced after cooking and arranged on the salad.)
*To render duck fat and make cracklings, slice duck skin into 1/4-inch-thick strips, pile into a baking dish and bake at 325*F for about a half hour, until the strips have curled and brown and are swimming in clear yellow fat. Strain off the fat and save for sauteeing. Save the cracklings separately. To use on salad, spread them out on a paper towel-lined baking sheet and bake until sizzling. Season with salt, pepper and allspice
CHICKEN:
Use skinless, boneless chicken breasts. They need no pounding. Omit the allspice.
PORK SAUSAGE:
Cut breakfast sausages into 1/2-inch pieces after browning, then toss with the dressing as described.
FOIE GRAS:
With a knife dipped in hot water for each slice, cut chilled foie gras into 1/4-inch slices. Arrange them on an oiled baking sheet. Dust with salt, pepper and allspice. Sprinkle with droplets of Port wine. Turn and season the other side. Cover and chill at least 20 minutes, so that a minimum of fat will escape during cooking
Have your salad tossed with the dressing and arranged on plates. Film 1 or 2 large heavy fring pans with duck fat or clarified butter and heat to very hot but not burning. Saute the foie gras slices less than a minute on each side, just to brown them around the edges. Arrange them as done at the edge of the salads, and serve with all possible speed
SALAD OF COLD ROAST PHEASANT, GAME HENS, CHICKEN BREAST, DUCK OR PORK LOIN.
Roast meats should not be reheated, but they make a chic cold lunch:
for 6 servings.
1 cup of the sweet-and-sour dressing
18 to 24 slices of cold roast pheasant breast, game hen, chicken, duck or pork loin
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Sufficient leaves of tender frizzy lettuce (or romaine, cut into 1/2-inch slices)
24 to 30 neatly cut orange segments
12 paper thin rounds of red onions, separated into rings
1 cup pine nuts, toasted
Spread a spoonful or two of the dressing in a plate, and arrange the sliced meat upon it. Dust lightly with salt and pepper, and baste with a little of the dressing. Cover and let steep 10 minutes or so (refrigerate if the wait is longer).
Shortly before serving, toss the greens with enough dressing to coat them; taste and correct seasoning. Arrange a handful on each salad plate, and lay the sliced meat over the greens. Decorate with the orange segments, and a scattering of onion rounds and pine nuts. Spoon the rest of the dressing over each, and serve.
(From The Way to Cook by Julia Child.)
The salad dressing is amazing. I use it a lot on its own and I've posted a favorite duck menu in the Menus section that calls for it. It's also a nice dip for crudites.
SWEET AND SOUR DRESSING:
for about 3/4 cup
1-1/2 Tbs. finely minced shallots or scallions
2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbs. wine vinegar or raspberry vinegar
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1 Tbs. sweet-and-sour sauce, such as Chinese plum sauce or hoisin, or minced chutney
1/2 cup light virgin olive oil
Droplets of dark sesame oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Whisk together the shallots or scallions, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, and sauce or chutney in a small bowl. By droplets, to make an emulsion, whisk in the olive oil. Season to taste with sesame oil, salt and pepper. (If made ahead, cover and set aside at room temperature. Stir up if necessary before using.)
PORK TENDERLOIN SALAD:
for 4 main course servings, or 6-8 first course servings
Sufficient tender frizzy lettuce leaves (curly endive) or romaine leaves cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. (I used mixed baby lettuce with Belgian endive and radicchio.)
Sliced bell peppers of various colors, or cherry tomatoes, optional
2 pork tendereloins
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp. allspice
A spoonful or two of light virgin olive oil
The preceding dressing
Equipment: A rubber mallet or other pounding instrument; a wok or a large no-stick skillet
Wash and dry the salad greens and turn them into a large bowl. Add the peppers or tomatoes if you're using them
Trim the pork tenderloins and cut into 1-inch crosswise chunks. Pound between pieces of plastic wrap, widening them almost double. Slice into strips about 1/4-inch wide. Dust lightly with salt, pepper and allspice.
Set the wok or skillet over high heat, add enough oil for stir-frying to the wok, or to film the bottom of the frying pan. When very hot but not smoking, stir in the meat, tossing and turning almost constantly for 3 to 4 minutes., until the meat begins to browm lightly and is just cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in 3 to 4 tablespoons of the dressing, enough to coat it nicely.
Toss the salad greens with just enough of the remaining dressing to coat. Arrange on plates, top with the pork, and serve.
VARIATIONS:
WARM DUCK SALAD:
Ingredients for the pork salad, substituting 4 raw duck leg-thighs for the pork
Warm duck cracklings*, optional
Peel the skin and any clinging fat off the duck legs. Cut the meat from the bone as neatly as possible. Pound out as above, and cut into lengthwise slice 1/4-inch thick. Season as above and cook until browned and just a little inside, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve as above, spinkled with the cracklings if you're using them.
(I've only make this with duck once, before I learned to make confit from duck legs. I would make it again with a seared skin-on duck breast, sliced after cooking and arranged on the salad.)
*To render duck fat and make cracklings, slice duck skin into 1/4-inch-thick strips, pile into a baking dish and bake at 325*F for about a half hour, until the strips have curled and brown and are swimming in clear yellow fat. Strain off the fat and save for sauteeing. Save the cracklings separately. To use on salad, spread them out on a paper towel-lined baking sheet and bake until sizzling. Season with salt, pepper and allspice
CHICKEN:
Use skinless, boneless chicken breasts. They need no pounding. Omit the allspice.
PORK SAUSAGE:
Cut breakfast sausages into 1/2-inch pieces after browning, then toss with the dressing as described.
FOIE GRAS:
With a knife dipped in hot water for each slice, cut chilled foie gras into 1/4-inch slices. Arrange them on an oiled baking sheet. Dust with salt, pepper and allspice. Sprinkle with droplets of Port wine. Turn and season the other side. Cover and chill at least 20 minutes, so that a minimum of fat will escape during cooking
Have your salad tossed with the dressing and arranged on plates. Film 1 or 2 large heavy fring pans with duck fat or clarified butter and heat to very hot but not burning. Saute the foie gras slices less than a minute on each side, just to brown them around the edges. Arrange them as done at the edge of the salads, and serve with all possible speed
SALAD OF COLD ROAST PHEASANT, GAME HENS, CHICKEN BREAST, DUCK OR PORK LOIN.
Roast meats should not be reheated, but they make a chic cold lunch:
for 6 servings.
1 cup of the sweet-and-sour dressing
18 to 24 slices of cold roast pheasant breast, game hen, chicken, duck or pork loin
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Sufficient leaves of tender frizzy lettuce (or romaine, cut into 1/2-inch slices)
24 to 30 neatly cut orange segments
12 paper thin rounds of red onions, separated into rings
1 cup pine nuts, toasted
Spread a spoonful or two of the dressing in a plate, and arrange the sliced meat upon it. Dust lightly with salt and pepper, and baste with a little of the dressing. Cover and let steep 10 minutes or so (refrigerate if the wait is longer).
Shortly before serving, toss the greens with enough dressing to coat them; taste and correct seasoning. Arrange a handful on each salad plate, and lay the sliced meat over the greens. Decorate with the orange segments, and a scattering of onion rounds and pine nuts. Spoon the rest of the dressing over each, and serve.
(From The Way to Cook by Julia Child.)
