Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [164]
The gravy is produced by the duck’s own cooking juices that are flavored by a classic mixture of sage, rosemary, and mashed duck livers. Since ducklings do not have quite as much liver as we need, add either a chicken liver or even better, an extra duck liver, if you can obtain it from your butcher.
For 4 servings
Rosemary leaves, chopped very fine, 2 teaspoons if fresh, 1 teaspoon if dried
Sage leaves, chopped or crumbled very fine, 1 tablespoon if fresh, 1½ teaspoons if dried
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
⅔ cup duck liver, or duck and chicken liver (see remarks above) chopped very fine
A 4½- to 5-pound fresh duckling
A hand-held hair dryer
1. Combine the rosemary, sage, salt, and pepper, and divide the mixture into two parts.
2. Put the chopped liver and one of the halves of the above herb mixture into a bowl, and mix with a fork to an evenly blended consistency.
3. In a pot large enough to contain the duck completely covered in water, bring sufficient water to a boil.
4. Preheat oven to 450°.
5. If the bird still contains the gizzard, remove and discard it. Also remove the gobs of fat on either side of the cavity. When the water comes to a boil, put in the duck. After the water returns to a boil, leave the duck in another 5 to 7 minutes, then take it out. Drain the bird well, and pat it dry inside and out with paper towels. Turn on the hair dryer and direct hot air over the whole skin of the duck, for 6 to 8 minutes. (Please refer to the introductory remarks for an explanation of this procedure.)
6. Rub the remaining herb mixture, the part not combined with the liver, into the skin of the duck.
7. Spread the herb and liver mixture inside the bird’s cavity.
8. Put the bird on a roasting rack, breast side up, and place the rack in a shallow baking pan. Tuck up the tail with a toothpick so that the cavity will not spill its filling. Roast in the upper third of the preheated oven. After 30 minutes, turn the thermostat down to 375° and cook the duck for at least 1 hour more, until the skin becomes crisp.
9. Take the duck out of the oven and transfer it temporarily to a deep dish. Remove the toothpick from the tail to let all the liquid inside the cavity run into the dish. Collect this liquid and put it into a small saucepan, together with ¼ cup fat drawn from the roasting pan. Scrape away the herb and liver mixture still adhering to the duck’s cavity and add it to the saucepan. Turn on the heat to low, and stir the contents of the pan until you have obtained a fairly dense gravy.
10. Detach the bird’s wings and drumsticks, and either cut the breast into 4 pieces, or if you prefer, into several thin slices. Put the duck on a warm serving platter, pour the gravy over it, and serve immediately. If you prefer to carve the duck at table, English style, serve the gravy separately, in a sauceboat.
Rabbit with Rosemary and White Wine
MY FATHER lived in town, but like many Italians, he had a farm. It was the custom that on his periodic visits of inspection, the family that worked it for him, the contadini—the peasant farmers—would kill a chicken or rabbit and cook it for dinner. Here is the way they used to do rabbit. Without browning, it is stewed in very little besides its own juices. It is then simmered in white wine with some rosemary and a touch of tomato.
For 4 to 6 servings
A 3- to 3½-pound rabbit, cut into 8 piece
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup celery diced fine
1 garlic clove, peeled
⅔ cup dry white wine
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary OR 1½ teaspoons dried leaves
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1 bouillon cube and 2 tablespoons tomato paste, dissolved in ⅓ cup warm water
1. Soak the rabbit in abundant cold water overnight, in an unheated room in cold weather or in the refrigerator. Rinse in several changes of cold water, then pat thoroughly dry with