Roberta Hall-McCarron: Smoked duck and beetroot salad

For February’s food feature, Rosie Morton sat down with leading Edinburgh chef and winner of the fish dish in the 2021 series of The Great British Menu, Roberta Hall-McCarron.

For Roberta, inspiration lies everywhere – the miracle of snowdrops pushing above ground; the cacophony of colour and sound in high summer; and the golden light of autumn.

Her new book, The Changing Tides: A Cookbook, draws on that natural beauty and, of course, the delicious flavours that each month brings. She shares with us some of her fabulous recipes including this smoked duck and beetroot salad.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

200g golden beetroot

200g red beetroot

100ml pickle liquor (page 280)

2 duck breasts, smoked (page 22)

100g mixed baby leaves

Sea salt

For the dressing

Juice of 1 orange

1 tbsp cold-pressed rapeseed oil

1 tsp red wine vinegar

Fine salt

Credit: Rebecca Dickson

Method

Preheat your oven to 175°C fan. 

Wrap one golden and one red beetroot in tin foil and bake for about an hour – the size of the beetroot will determine how long it’ll take to cook; you can check if it’s done by inserting a skewer into it. If there’s any resistance it needs a little longer. Once the beetroots are cooked, allow them to cool enough to handle, then rub the skin off. (It should rub away easily if they’re still a little warm.) Cut into bite-sized pieces. 

Peel and thinly slice the remaining beetroots and put them in a bowl. Heat up the pickle liquor then pour it over the beetroots and leave until it has cooled to room temperature.

Next make the dressing, whisking together the orange juice, rapeseed oil, vinegar and a pinch of salt.

Take the smoked duck breasts and put them, skin-side down, in a cold pan. Cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes, then turn them over and cook for 2 minutes on the other side. Remove the duck from the pan and rest for 5 minutes, then slice.

Dress the baby leaves with a pinch of sea salt and the orange dressing. Build the salad on your plates, with pieces of cooked beetroot, smoked duck breast, pickled beetroot and salad leaves.

The Changing Tides by Roberta Hall-McCarron (Kitchen Press), £25.

Read more Recipes here. 

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