This is a salad that will liven up your taste buds. It provides a wonderful rollercoaster on the senses with the richness of the duck, the refreshing watermelon, the freshness of the mint, the crunch of the cashews and the zing from the lime. Chinese 5 spice and star anise add a sweet and warm flavour but also has potent anti-inflammatory effects.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4 duck legs

• sea salt to season the duck

• 2 tbsp Chinese 5 spice

• 2 tbsp soy sauce (Use a GF Tamari soy sauce for Coeliac or gluten allergy)

• 1 tbsp honey

• 1 tbsp mirin

• 1 thumbnail size ginger, peeled and grated

• 1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated

• 4 star anise

• 2 big handfuls of cashew nuts

• 4 big handful of salad leaves

• 200g watermelon chunks

• 4 sprigs of mint, leaves only

• 1/2 lime, juice only

• chilli flakes (optional to add some spice)

Start by generously season the duck legs with sea salt and place them in a baking dish.

Mix together the Chinese 5 spice, soy sauce, honey, mirin, ginger and garlic in a bowl. Brush this mixture all over the duck legs. Place the star anise amongst the duck.

Place in the oven FAN 140 for 3 hours.

Use a knife and fork to shred the duck and remove the bones and the 4 pieces of star anise.

Oven bake the cashew nuts in a dish. Fan 180 for 5-8 minutes. Keep an eye on them as they can easily burn. Give them a shake halfway through the cooking process.

To serve, arrange the salad leaves on the serving plates, top with shredded duck, watermelon and cashew nuts.

Scatter the mint leaves (a mix of whole and shredded leaves), squirt with lime juice and sprinkle over a pinch of chilli flakes.