Ingredients

• 2 duck breasts
• 4tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 125g/5oz cherries
• stones removed
• 50ml/2fl oz elderflower cordial
• 50ml/2fl oz cider vinegar
• 100ml/4fl oz rapeseed oil
• salt
• to taste
• 75g/3oz Bull's Blood lettuce
• or other red-leafed variety of lettuce
• 25g/1oz lovage leaves or celery leaves
• 25g/1oz fresh elderflower petals
• ½ punnet mustard cress

Directions

• Trim the duck breast and remove any excess sinew. Score the skin lightly with a sharp knife.
• Put the peppercorns in a pestle and mortar and crush.
• Roll each duck breast in the peppercorns then season to taste with salt.
• Heat a frying pan until hot then add the vegetable oil and the duck breasts
• skin-side down.
• Cook for about one minute then reduce the heat and cook for about five minutes on each side
• or until cooked to your own liking. (This amount of time will give you medium-rare meat.)
• Remove the duck from the pan and rest on a wire rack over a plate.
• To make the dressing
• place the cherries and elderflower cordial into a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Do not boil - just let the cherries warm through and bleed their colour into the cordial until it takes on a pink colour.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool.
• Remove the cherries from the mixture and set them aside.
• Whisk in the cider vinegar and rapeseed oil. Add a pinch of salt to taste and return the cherries to the pan.
• To serve
• place the lettuce leaves
• lovage and cress into a bowl and add a little of the dressing.
• Cut the duck breasts into thin slices. Layer the salad and duck onto a plate. Spoon some more dressing around the outside of the salad and finish off with a sprinkling of the elderflower petals.