Side dishes are vital portions that are needed to complete a scrumptious meal. It’s also a good way to add more fruits and vegetables into one’s diet. If we’d want to get more technical, the purpose of a side dish is to help balance out the flavour of the main dish.
Typically, the flavours found in side dishes are mellow or a little bit spicy, compared to the main course. When it comes to food, meals made from duck meat are ones that are exceptionally enhanced by side dishes. Let’s take a look at 5 side dishes that work very well with duck.
Red Beet Salad – Beets have an earthy taste, with a bit of bitterness to them, if consumed on their own. But if added and turned into a salad mix, it provides a supplementary texture to the gamey tasting duck meat.
All you have to do is bake the red beet, pour in some olive oil, add a dash of salt, a small amount of horseradish, a generous quantity of caraway seeds, and a pinch of sugar, then voila! You now have a warm red beet salad that you can pair with your duck!
Mashed Potatoes with Caramelised Onions – Here’s a side dish that’s oozing with flavours and sweetness that enhances the duck meat’s taste to a new level. The creamy texture and butter flavour of mashed potatoes perfectly complements the duck’s strong taste. Meanwhile, the caramelised onion adds sweetness to the entire meal that perfectly balances out all the robust zest.
Roasted Vegetables – Quick and easy to make, roasted vegetables is another side dish that’s perfect for duck meat. Individuals can use all of their favourite vegetables like onions, celery, parsley roots, garlic, or carrots. What makes roasting unique is that the dry heat of the oven caramelises the natural sugars found in vegetables, bringing out a sweet, nutty, and toasty flavour.
Mashed Pumpkin – A common side dish for duck meat meals are mashed pumpkins. Its sweet and earthy flavour is improved by mashing the vegetable with milk, pepper, butter, and salt.
Cabbage – Cabbage is most likely the most common side dish that’s paired with duck meat. At first glance, this seemingly simple vegetable may look unimpressive, but cooking it the right way can bring out some fantastic flavours. Get some duck fat (if it’s available) or butter and heat it up in a pan. Once it’s hot, put in the finely chopped cabbage and stir-fry it, until the cabbage gets some colour and turns softer.
One can then add a few drops of water to help cook it better. When the cabbage starts to have a caramel-like taste and colour, the vegetable is ready to be served. It takes about 30 minutes to finish this fine side dish.
Duck meat can certainly be served by itself, with garnishes and other ingredients as a main dish. But adding these vegetables side dishes add an extra layer of culinary experience that’s truly spectacular. An experience that will surely have anyone enjoying the meal coming back for seconds.
