Tackle high blood pressure with this marinated duck salad with bulgur

There are many reasons why blood pressure can get high. A tasty way to try and combat that is with this recipe for marinated duck and bulgur salad.

Duck is a great source of protein, selenium, zinc, coumarins and Vitamins B-5 and B-12. All of these can help boost your overall health, leading to a stronger heart. And in turn, a stronger heart can be one way to potentially lower high blood pressure.

This tasty recipe of marinated duck salad with bulgur is rich in nutrients and a good way to eat healthy. In total, it should take about 45 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook, and serves four.

Ingredients

• 4 small boneless duck breasts
• 3/4 cup of bulgur wheat
• 4 garlic cloves, divided and chopped. To get maximum flavour out of them, take the blade of a wide knife and flatten the garlic until it's squished - this helps the juices and flavours to really come out.
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp chilli powder. You can make this as spicy or as mild as you want, but milder tends to work better so the other flavours of the ingredients have a chance to come out.
• 1 and 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 4 tbsp fresh basil, finely shredded
• 1 medium orange, grating the skin of it for the zest and juicing the rest
• 2 oranges for the juice. Roll it hard against a flat surface and then cut it in half, and squeeze out as much juice as possible. Rolling it will help to soften the oranges and help more juices flow out.
• 1 and 1/2 lemons, rolled against a hard surface and squeezed of their juices
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 16 kumquats
• 1 and 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 cup water
• 3 scallions, sliced thinly
• 3 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 lb mixed salad greens. For the best health kick, go for salad greens like spinach, red or green kale, Swiss chard or watercress.
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar. You can also use red wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar, but stay away from distilled white vinegar because it'll overpower the whole salad.
• 1/4 cucumber. Either an English or field cucumber is fine, but the former tends to provide longer-lasting flavour and absorbs the rest of the ingredients a little better. Whichever you choose, dice it finely.
• 1/2 large tomato, diced finely.
• Dash of black or white pepper, just enough to taste

Instructions

• Place the bulgur wheat in a medium-sized glass bow.
• Put a pot of water onto high heat and when it's come to a boil, remove it and pour it over the bulgur wheat.
• Let the bulgur soak in the boiled water for about half an hour.
• While the bulgur's soaking, de-skin and de-fat the duck breasts.
• Place the duck breasts in a glass dish and add the garlic, chilli powder, cumin, basil, orange zest, juice of one orange, half the lemon juice and about half a tablespoon of olive oil.
• Mix everything together thoroughly and so that both sides of the duck breasts are covered.
• Set the duck breasts aside to marinate. A good tip is to place a sheet of Saran Wrap over the bowl and secure it in place with a rubber band, then turn the bowl upside down.
• To prepare the kumquats, cut a small slit in each one that does not go all the way through.
• Place the kumquats in a pot of the remaining orange juice, sugar and one cup of water.
• Let the liquid come to a full boil before reducing it to medium-low heat (about 7:00 to 8:00 on the stove) and keep turning the kumquats so they cook evenly.
• When they're tender and the liquid's reduced by about half (about 15 to 20 minutes), take it off the heat and let them  cool, still remaining in the liquid.
• Drain the soaked bulgur wheat, then return it to the bowl.
• Add the scallions, the rest of the garlic, the chilli powder, cumin, lemon juice, orange juice, 1 tbsp of olive oil and cilantro.
• Keep tasting everything and add any other spices, seasonings and herbs that you think would give it that extra kick.
• Take a large non-stick skillet, like a cast iron frying pan, and heat it over heat.
• Remove the duck from its marinade and brown both sides of it over the high heat. Turn it frequently so it doesn't burn, but you should spend about four to five minutes on each side. Just make sure to keep turning the breasts so they don't stick to the pan. The meat will be rosy-coloured in the centre, but you can cook it for about another minute on each side if you prefer it more well-done.
• Remove the breasts to a carving board and slice them very thinly, against the grain.
• Arrange the salad greens and remaining basil on four plates, and put four kumquats on each bed of salad leaves.
• Over the salad, drizzle the rest of the remaining olive oil and balsamic vinegar, as well as a bit of the liquid the kumquats were cooking in.
• Place a portion of the bulgur wheat salad in the centre of each plate and arrange the duck slices around it.
• Scatter the diced cucumber and tomatoes around it.

Instead of as with other dishes, you'll want to serve the marinated duck and bulgur wheat salad right away. It serves four and makes for a perfect dinner party dish.