Gingery Hot Duck Salad

Serves 2

1 duck breast
2 tbspns fish sauce
Juice of half a lime and juice of half an orange or 1 Seville orange
1 Cayenne chilli finely chopped
1cm ginger grated
Few drops sesame oil, (optional)
50g baby spinach, watercress, lambs lettuce or a mixture


1.Grill or fry the duck breast - fat side down, if not removed - until it's cooked to juicy pinkness.

2.Let it rest on a board, while you mix together the fish sauce, lime and orange juice (or just seville-orange juice), chilli, ginger and optional sesame oil together in a bowl.

3.Pour any juices that the duck has made into the bowl, and then carve the meat on the diagonal into thin slices. Toss the sliced duck into the bowl and stir everything well. Turn it out onto a serving plate covered with the salad leaves.

Feta, Mango and Lime Salad

Serves 4
Ready in 15 minutes

2 firm mangos
1 lime
Half a cucumber, skin partially peeled so it looks striped and finely sliced
1.5cm piece fresh ginger, shredded
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
200g pack Greek feta, drained
Small bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked
1 mild red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
Romaine lettuce hearts, to serve

1. Peel and thinly slice the mango, then thinly slice into very fine shreds.

2. Cut the lime in half, juice 1 half and reserve. Cut the other half into thin wedges and put in a serving dish with the mango slices, cucumber slices and shredded ginger.

3. Mix the reserved lime juice, sugar and fish sauce together and pour over the fruit salad. Crumble over pieces of feta and scatter with the coriander leaves and chopped chilli. Serve with romaine lettuce leaves.

Hot and Sour Lime Soup with Beef

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Total cooking time: 35 minutes

Serves 4

Difficulty: Medium

1 litre beef stock
2 stems lemon grass, white part only, halved
3 cloves garlic, halved
2.5cm x 2.5cm piece fresh ginger, sliced
95g (3oz) fresh coriander, leaves and stalks separated
2 1.5cm x 4cm strips lime rind
2 star anise
3 small fresh red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
4 spring onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
500g (1lb) fillet steak, trimmed
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon grated palm sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
Fresh coriander leaves, extra, to garnish

1. Place the stock, lemon grass, garlic, ginger, coriander stalks, rind, star anise, 1 teaspoon chopped chilli, half the spring onion, and 1 litre water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes. Strain and return the liquid to the pan.

2. Heat a chargrill pan until very hot. Brush with olive oil and sear the steak on both sides until browned on the outside, but very rare in the centre.

3. Reheat the soup, adding the fish sauce and palm sugar. Season and add the lime juice to taste - you should achieve a hot and sour flavour.

4. Add the remaining spring onion and the chopped coriander leaves to the soup. Slice the beef across the grain into thin strips. Curl the strips into a decorative pattern, then place in 4 deep serving bowls. Pour the soup over the beef and garnish with the remaining chilli and coriander leaves.

Nutrition per serving
Protein 31g; Fat 7g; Carbohydrate 7g; Dietary Fibre 0.5g; Cholesterol 84mg; 900kJ (215kcal)