Treviso's red radicchio has a delightful sharpness that beautifully balances the richness of duck, though chicken will also work well here. In either case, ask your butcher to bone the bird. Serves 4.
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hours, 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 large duck or equivalent-sized chicken
- The giblets, cleaned and minced (optional)
- 1/2 pound ham, shredded
- 2 pounds radicchio rosso di Treviso, cut into thin wedges
- The leaves of an 8-inch (20 cm) sprig of rosemary, about 1/3 cup
- Several leaves sage
- 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 cup extravirgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- Crostini made from polenta (as a side dish; grill or fry half-inch high slices of polenta)
- Butcher's twine
Preparation:
Sauté the radicchio in 1/4 cup olive oil until it is wilted, season it with salt and pepper, then combine it with the ham and the giblets (if you're using them) and stuff the bird with the mixture. Sew the bird shut and heat your oven to 390 degrees F (200 C).While the oven is warming mince the garlic, rosemary and sage and stir them into the remaining olive oil. Roast the bird on a rack for an hour and a half; alternate basting with the herbed oil and the dry white wine. While the duck is cooking prepare the crostini (you can if need be start from commercially prepared polenta), and serve everything hot. The Wine? I'd suggest a Valpolicella Classico Superiore.
