Ingredients Serves 4: 4 duck confit legs 4 pears (conference or blanquilla variety — firm enough to hold their shape when cooked) 2 onions 2 carrots 2 ripe tomatoes 1 glass of brandy or vi ranci 500 ml chicken stock or water Plain flour, for dusting the pears Extra virgin olive oil Salt and black pepper For the picada: 1 handful of toasted almonds 2 garlic cloves 2 Maria biscuits or carquinyolis (Catalan almond biscuits) Preparation time: 90 minutes Difficulty: medium Steps to follow In a large casserole dish or wide pan, brown the duck confit legs over a medium heat, starting skin-side down, in their own fat. Once golden and the skin is crisp, remove and set aside. Pour off most of the fat, leaving just a couple of tablespoons in the pan. In the same pan, gently sauté the finely chopped onion and carrot over a low heat until soft. Add the grated tomatoes and let the mixture reduce for about 15 minutes, until thick and concentrated. Return the duck legs to the pan. Pour in the brandy or vi ranci and raise the heat to let the alcohol evaporate. Then add the hot stock, reduce the heat to low, cover and let it simmer gently for around 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the pears: peel them, cut in half and remove the cores. Lightly dust with flour and fry them in a little olive oil until golden on the outside. Set aside. Prepare the picada in a mortar by crushing the garlic, almonds and biscuits into a paste. After the 20 minutes, add the pears to the pan. Loosen the picada paste with a spoonful of the cooking stock and stir it into the pan. Mix gently to combine everything and cook for a further 10 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Presentation and recommended dressings Serve one duck leg per person, accompanied by two pear halves and topped with the cooking sauce. This is a dish that improves with rest, so if you prepare it in advance, simply reheat it before serving. If you prefer a smoother sauce, you can remove the duck and pears once cooked and strain the sauce through a fine sieve or blend it before recombining everything. This dish pairs beautifully with a full-bodied red wine with character. An excellent choice would be a DO Montsant made from garnatxa and carinyena, or a DO Empordà wine. Other related recipes Beef and mushroom stew Chicken with mushrooms Fish stew Meatballs wrapped in pork lace fat