Anatra speziata Luca’s Recipe for Spiced Duck The last time I was served this duck by Luca Colferai (that’s him, all in white, piloting his vessel), we were sitting on his boat in the middle of the lagoon with fire-works exploding above our heads. It will probably never taste that good again but I have had some success replicating it at home. How long you cook it and just how much spice you put in will depend on the size of the beast. Luca’s recipe will work for a smallish, two kilogram duck. For a three kilo duck you have to increase the quantities by about 1½. You should be able to get about four servings out of it. I have left the instructions in his own words with a few notes of my own. Luca writes: My recipe envisions the insertion of a spice mixture that exalts the marvelous flavor of the bird. Having decapitated, amputated and disemboweled the poor beast and after having plucked and singed it you insert the following, in this order: a [small] fistful of coarse salt, two or three garlic cloves, three or four cloves, a three centimeter stick of cinnamon, several peppercorns, a sprig of rosemary, two bay leaves and a generous pinch of coarse salt to finish. (I would, in general, avoid [star] anise but it’s worth trying at least once—but only one piece). I love it with the anise, so by all means put it in! Smear a roasting pant with a little oil, and put a little on the duck, which already has plenty of its own fat. Place in an oven that is hot but not blazingly so (about 220°C/425°F) and cook for an hour more or less depending on its size. Figure about 1 ¼ hours for a 2 kg/4.5 lbduck and 1 ¾ hours for a 3 kg/7 lb duck. The duck will be good right away but also good cut into pieces, and kept in its juices for eight or nine hours or even the next day. Some further advice: Insert the duck in the oven breast-side up until the top is browned then turn it on one side and then the other. Pull it out of the oven before it is cooked all the way and cover it. This way it will finish cooking and be more tender. The duck is typically served with salsa peverada. This sauce is made with chicken and duck liver, anchovies, lemon rind and a little pepper. Some add peperoncino [dried capsicum] but the recipe is sure older than Christopher Columbus’s voyages; it is ancient, dark, sweet, greasy, piquant, savory and potent and once, it was surely full of pepper. The proportions are roughly the following: You will need about 50 g of duck or chicken liver, about the same of soppressata, a couple of salted anchovy filets, a garlic clove and the rind of one lemon Chop all these very finely and heat gently in about 15 dl of olive oil until gently simmering. Add a teaspoon or two of ground white pepper and a couple of tablespoons of wine vinegar and cook very slowly for some ten minutes. Finally throw in a generous tablespoon of chopped parsley and a little more vinegar and salt if it needs it. The sauce is good warm but you can also use it at room temperature.