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 cloth or paper towels.
2. Choose a saute pan that can contain all the rabbit pieces without overlapping. Put in the oil, celery, garlic, and the rabbit, cover tightly, and turn the heat on to low. Turn the meat occasionally, but do not leave it uncovered.
3. You will find that at the end of 2 hours, the rabbit has shed a considerable amount of liquid. Uncover the pan, turn the heat up to medium, and cook until all the liquid has simmered away, turning the rabbit from time to time. Add the wine, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Allow the wine to simmer briskly until it has evaporated, then pour the dissolved bouillon cube and tomato paste mixture over the meat. Cook at a steady, gentle simmer for another 15 minutes or more, until the juices in the pan have formed a dense little sauce, turning the rabbit pieces over from time to time. Transfer the entire contents of the pan to a warm platter and serve promptly.
Ahead-of-time note You can finish cooking the rabbit several hours or a day in advance. Reheat in a covered pan over low heat, adding 2 or 3 tablespoons of water. Turn the rabbit pieces from time to time until they are warmed all the way through.
VEAL
Pan–Roasted Veal with Garlic,
Rosemary, and White Wine
FOR ITALIAN FAMILIES, this exquisitely simple dish is the classic way to cook a roast. It is a perfect illustration of the basic pan-roasting method used by home cooks in Italy, conducted entirely over a burner. Its secret lies in slow, watchful cooking, in a partly covered pot, carefully monitoring the amount of liquid so that there is just enough to keep the meat from sticking to the pan, but not so much that it dilutes its flavor. No other technique produces a more savory or succulent roast, and it is as successful with birds and lamb as it is with veal.
For 6 servings
3 medium garlic cloves
2 pounds boned veal roast (see note below)
A sprig of rosemary OR 1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
⅔ cup dry white wine
Note A juicy, flavorful, and not expensive cut for this roast would be boned, rolled shoulder of veal.
1. Lightly mash the garlic with a knife handle, hitting it just hard enough to split the skin, which you will remove and discard.
2. If the meat is to be rolled up, put the garlic, rosemary, and a few grindings of pepper on it while it is flat, then roll it, and tie it securely. If it is a solid piece from the round, pierce it at several points with a sharp, narrow-bladed knife and insert the garlic and distribute here and there the sprig of rosemary, divided into several pieces, or the dried leaves.
3. Choose a heavy-bottomed or enameled cast-iron pot, possibly oval-shaped, just large enough to hold the meat. Put in the oil and butter, turn on the heat to medium high, and when the butter foam begins to subside, put in the meat and brown it deeply all over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Add the wine and, using a wooden spoon, loosen the browning residues sticking to bottom and sides of the pot. Adjust heat so that the wine barely simmers, set the cover on slightly ajar, and cook for 1½ to 2 hours, until the meat feels very tender when prodded with a fork. Turn the roast from time to time while it is cooking and, if there is no liquid in the pot, add 2 or 3 tablespoons of water as often as needed.
5. When done, transfer the roast to a cutting board. Should there be no juices left in the pan, put in ¼ cup of water, turn the heat up to high, and boil the water away while loosening the cooking residues stuck to the bottom and sides. If on the other hand, you have ended up with too much liquid in the pan—there should be about a spoonful or slightly less of juice per serving—reduce it over high heat. Turn off the heat.
6. Cut the roast into slices about ¼ inch thick. Arrange them on a warm platter, spoon the cooking juices over them, and serve at once.
Ahead-of-time note The cooking can be completed up to this point several hours in advance. Reheat gently in a covered pan
with 1 or 2 tablespoons of water if necessary.
Rolled–Up Breast of Veal with Pancetta
THE BREAST is one of the juiciest and tastiest, as well as one of the least expensive, cuts of veal. The rib bones it is attached to must be removed so that the meat can be rolled, but if you have the butcher do it for you, don’t leave the bones behind because they are an excellent addition to homemade meat broth.
If you’d like to try boning the meat yourself—and it is quite simple—proceed as follows: Lay the breast on a work counter, ribs facing down, and slip the blade of a sharp knife between the meat and the bones, working all the meat loose in a single, flat piece. Remove bits of gristle and loose patches of skin, but do not detach the one layer of skin that adheres to and covers the breast.
For 4 to 6 servings
Breast of veal in a single piece, 4½ to 5 pounds with the bones, yielding approximately 1¾ pounds of meat when boned either by the butcher or as described above
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
¼ pound pancetta, sliced very, very thin
2 or 3 garlic cloves, peeled
A sprig or two of rosemary OR 1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
Trussing string
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup dry white wine
1. Lay the boned meat flat, skin side facing down, sprinkle with salt and pepper, spread the sliced pancetta over it, add the garlic cloves, spaced well apart, and top with rosemary. Roll the meat up tightly, jelly-roll fashion, and tie it firmly with trussing string.
2. Choose a heavy-bottomed or enameled cast-iron pot, possibly oval-shaped, just large enough for the meat. Put in the oil and butter, turn on the heat to medium high, and when the butter foam begins to subside, put in the meat and brown it deeply all over. Sprinkle with salt and add the wine.
3. Let the wine come to a boil, turn the meat in it, and after a few seconds, turn down the heat so that the wine will bubble at a very slow, intermittent simmer. Set the cover on slightly ajar, and cook for 1½ to 2 hours, until the meat feels very tender when prodded with a fork. Turn the breast from time to time while it is cooking and, if there is no liquid in the pot, add 2 or 3 tablespoons of water as often as is necessary.
4. Transfer the meat to a cutting board. Add 2 tablespoons of water to the juices in the pot, turn up the heat to high, and boil the water away while using a wooden spoon to scrape loose the cooking residues from the bottom and sides. Turn off the heat.
5. Cut the breast into slices a little less than ½ inch thick. If you leave the trussing strings on, it will be easier to cut the breast into compact slices, but make sure you pick out all the bits of string after slicing. Look for and discard the 2 garlic cloves, arrange the slices on a warm serving platter, pour the pot juices over them, and serve at once.
Ahead-of-time note Follow the recommendations for Pan-Roasted Veal with Garlic, Rosemary, and White Wine.
Pan-Roasted Breast of Veal
ALTHOUGH THIS HAD long been one of my favorite meat dishes, it was so simple and straightforward that I took it for granted, and it escaped my notice as a recipe to record. The late James Beard had it with me at Bologna’s Diana restaurant when he came, in the mid-1970s, to observe the course I was then teaching. It was he who was so taken with it that he urged me to set the recipe down.
The whole breast, with the bones in, is pan-roasted on top of the stove in the classic Italian manner, with no liquid but a small amount of cooking fat, a little wine, and its own juices. It is far simpler to do than any of the fancy stuffed things one sometimes does with breast of veal, and it produces an impressive roast with a rich brown color, and astonishingly tender, savory meat.
For 4 servings
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 3 whole garlic cloves, peeled
3½ pounds breast of veal with rib bones in
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary OR 1 teaspoon dried leaves
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
⅔ cup dry white wine
1. Choose a saute pan that can subsequently accommodate the meat lying flat. Put in the oil and garlic, and turn on the heat to medium.
2. When the oil is quite hot, put in the breast, skin side facing down. The oil should sizzle when the meat goes in. Add the rosemary. Brown the meat deeply on one side, then on the other. Add salt and pepper, cook a minute or two longer, turning the breast 2 or 3 times, then add the wine. When the wine has bubbled briskly for 20 or 30 seconds, turn the heat down to low, and cover the pan, setting the lid slightly ajar.
3. Turn the meat from time to time while it cooks. If you find it sticking, loosen it with the help of 2 or 3 tablespoons of water and check the heat to make sure you are cooking at a very gentle pace. The veal is done when it feels very tender when prodded with a fork and has become colored a lovely brown all over. Expect it to take 2 to 2½ hours.
4. Transfer the breast to a cutting board with the ribs facing you. Use a sharp boning knife to work the bones loose, pull them away, and discard them. Carve the meat into thin slices, cutting it on the diagonal. Put the sliced meat on a warm serving platter.
5. Tip the pan, and spoon off some of the fat. Turn the heat on to medium, put in 2 or 3 tablespoons of water, and boil it away while using a wooden spoon to scrape loose cooking residues from the bottom and sides. Pour the pan juices over the veal and bring to the table promptly.
Ossobuco—Braised Veal Shanks, Milanese Style
Ossobuco, oss bus in Milan’s dialect, means “bone with a hole.” The particular bone in question is that of a calf’s hind shank, and the ring of meat that circles it is the sweetest and most tender on the entire animal. To be sure that it is as meltingly tender on the plate as Nature had intended, be guided by the following suggestions:
• Insist that the shank come from the meatier hind leg only. If you are buying it in a supermarket and are in doubt, look for one of the butchers who is usually on hand during the day, and ask him.
• Have the ossobuco cut no thicker than 1½ inches. It is the size at which it cooks best. Thick ossobuco, however impressive it looks on the plate, rarely cooks long and slowly enough, and it usually ends up being chewy and stringy.
• Make sure the butcher does not remove the skin enveloping the shanks. It not only helps to hold the ossobuco together while it cooks, but its creamy consistency makes a delectable contribution to the final flavor of the dish.
• Be prepared to give ossobuco time enough to cook. Slow, patient cooking is essential if you want to protect the shank’s natural juiciness.
Note When you are buying a whole shank, ask the butcher to saw off both ends for you. You don’t want them in the ossobuco because they don’t have much meat, but they make a splendid addition to the assorted components of a homemade meat broth.
For 6 to 8 servings
1 cup onion chopped fine
⅔ cup carrot chopped fine
⅔ cup celery chopped fine
4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter
1 teaspoon garlic chopped fine
2 strips lemon peel with none of the white pith beneath it
⅓ cup vegetable oil
8 1½-inch-thick slices of veal hind shank, each tied tightly around the middle
Flour, spread on a plate
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup Basic Homemade Meat Broth, prepared as directed, OR ½ cup canned beef broth with
½ cup water
1½ cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped, with their juice
½ teaspoon fresh thyme OR ¼ teaspoon dried
2 bay leaves
2 or 3 sprigs of parsley
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
Salt
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Choose a pot with a heavy bottom or of enameled cast iron that can subsequently accommodate all the veal shanks in a single layer. (If you do not have a sin
gle pot large enough, use two smaller ones, dividing the ingredients into two equal halves, but adding 1 extra tablespoon of butter for each pot.) Put in the onion, carrot, celery, and butter, and turn on the heat to medium. Cook for about 6 to 7 minutes, add the chopped garlic and lemon peel, cook another 2 or 3 minutes until the vegetables soften and wilt, then remove from heat.
3. Put the vegetable oil in a skillet and turn on the heat to medium high. Turn the veal shanks in the flour, coating them all over and shaking off the excess flour.
When the oil is quite hot—it should sizzle when the veal goes in—slip in the shanks and brown them deeply all over. Remove them from the skillet using a slotted spoon or spatula, and stand them side by side over the chopped vegetables in the pot.
4. Tip the skillet and spoon off all but a little bit of the oil. Add the wine, reduce it by simmering it over medium heat while scraping loose with a wooden spoon the browning residues stuck to the bottom and sides. Pour the skillet juices over the veal in the pot.
5. Put the broth in the skillet, bring it to a simmer, and add it to the pot. Also add the chopped tomatoes with their juice, the thyme, the bay leaves, parsley, pepper, and salt. The broth should have come two-thirds of the way up to the top of the shanks. If it does not, add more.
6. Bring the liquids in the pot to a simmer, cover the pot tightly, and place it in the lower third of the preheated oven. Cook for about 2 hours or until the meat feels very tender when prodded with a fork and a dense, creamy sauce has formed. Turn and baste the shanks every 20 minutes. If, while the ossobuco is cooking, the liquid in the pot becomes insufficient, add 2 tablespoons of water at a time, as needed.
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking Page 39