Our nutritionist-designed recipes by the Wholefood Warrior

Eva Humphries, DipION, mBANT, CNHC is a registered nutritional therapist, speaker, demo chef, columnist and founder of the health and wellness site www.wholefoodwarrior.co.uk.Having become disillusioned with the diet and weight loss industries, Eva translates the latest science on various health- related topics to promote evidence-based nutrition. Eva has created a series of recipes for us at Gressingham that include duck as a healthy ingredient in your diet, providing your body with an extremely high protein and vitamin rich meal.

Try out her recipes below.

Paleo duck & berry sauce

Go grain free with this nourishing combination of slow roasted duck leg, paleo berry sauce and greens. This dish is dense in nutrients whilst remaining low in carbohydrates.

Ingredients for 2

2 duck legs

For the sauce: 300g frozen berry mix (blackberries, black and red currants are ideal); 1 onion roughly chopped; 1 clove of garlic; 1 red chilli (deseeded), sliced; 1” piece of ginger, sliced; 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme.

Green vegetables of your choice to serve: asparagus, broccoli, green beans, courgette and little gem lettuce

Method

  • To cook the duck legs, preheat the oven 180 degrees C, put the duck legs in an ovenproof dish and cook for 90 minutes.
  • To make the sauce, put all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
  • Transfer the liquid to a saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes.
  • To serve, put a dollop of sauce on a plate, place the roasted duck leg on top and serve with steamed green vegetables.

Skinny duck steak, beaked sweet potato, pea hummus

These duck steaks make the perfect midweek dinner. They are super speedy to cook, pair well with almost anything and above all are low in fat and high in protein.

By removing the skin from the duck breasts they become a lean source of protein, in fact they are as lean as chicken breasts but with tons more flavour.

For this recipe, duck steaks have been paired with nourishing sweet potato, pea hummus and plenty of greens.

Ingredients for 2

2 duck breasts, 2 sweet potatoes, 1 red onion, 2 handfuls of watercress, 1 pomegranate, for the pea hummus: 300g frozen petit pois pea, 10g fresh parsley (stalks and leaves), 1 small clove of garlic, juice of a small lemon, 2 tbsp (30ml) extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp sea salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Method

  • To make the baked sweet potato, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Pierce the sweet potatoes 3-4 times with a sharp knife and wrap in tin foil. Put them in the oven for 45-60 minutes or until fully cooked.
  • To make the pea hummus, boil a kettle, put the frozen peas in a bowl and pour over the boiling water. Allow it to stand for 10 minutes to defrost the peas then drain.
  • Put the peas, parsley, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, smoked paprika and sea salt in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Season with freshly ground black pepper and more sea salt if required.
  • To make the duck steak, remove the skin from 2 duck breasts. Take a sheet of cling film and place a duck breast in the middle. Fold the other end of the cling film over so that the duck breast is sitting in the middle of 2 sheets of cling film. Using a rolling pin, bash the duck breast until it is 1” thick. Repeat with the second duck breast.
  • Heat a griddle pan on a medium/ high heat (alternatively use a frying pan with a teaspoon of coconut oil in it). Cook the duck steaks for 3 minutes on each side.
  • To assemble the dish, put a duck steak and a baked sweet potato on a plate. Top the sweet potato with the pea hummus, scatter over the watercress leaves, sliced red onion and pomegranate seeds.

Macro bowl

The vegan movement has been enjoying macro bowls for years and now we’ve upgraded it by topping it with duck. Macro bowls combine 2-3 vegetables with a good carb such as quinoa and a protein source (our delicious duck).Brimming with superfoods, this macro bowl is the ideal mix of nourishing ingredients.

Kale, cherry tomatoes, quinoa and red cabbage make a tasty base for leftover roast duck. Alternatively, use sliced duck breast for a nutritious lunch that is a source of all the right kind of nutrients.

Ingredients for 2

leftover roast duck, shredded with a fork or 2 duck breasts, 1 small punnet of cherry tomatoes, 100g dry quinoa or 200g cooked quinoa, torn leaves from 3 stems of kale, 1/4 red cabbage, finely sliced, sea salt & black pepper to season, extra virgin olive oil to drizzle.

Method

  • If using fresh duck breast, heat a griddle or frying pan on a medium heat and cook the duck breasts for 6-8 minutes on each side. Allow the duck breasts to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
  • Cook the quinoa according to packet instructions, season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
  • Divide the kale, finely sliced red cabbage, tomatoes and quinoa between two bowl. Top with the duck and season again with sea salt and black pepper.

For more deliciousduck recipes click this link.

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