The mute duck of Penedès in Joana's cava: "I like to leave everything ready because my dream is to go and see castles"

Joana Cusiné Olivella, from Vilafranca del Penedès, prepares a casserole for us featuring one of the most beloved and unique local products of her region: the Penedès Muscovy duck. In this case, it's called "ánega," and we'll soon understand why. The Muscovy duck belongs to a breed that has been raised for over five centuries in the farming areas surrounding Vilafranca. Today, you'll find it in cooperatives and shops (often by special order), as it's growing in popularity—like the Penedès breed of rooster—and is highly prized by chefs. The Muscovy duck has leaner meat than the traditional duck. If you watch the video (don't miss it, as our wise cook treats us to a dance with her husband!), you'll see that the meat is darker than that of other ducks. It lives in a pen and eats feed, corn, and vegetable scraps.

Joana's recipe is, naturally, "with cava." I really enjoy finding, in all these wise women who revive traditional dishes, a careful use of technology. Our wise woman uses a ceramic hob and an automatic pepper mill.

Ingredients:

• Female mute duck from the Penedès region, cut into quarters
• Salt, oil, pepper
• Llardo
• A glass of cognac
• Cava, naturally
• A handful of pine nuts
• A handful of plums

"We season it with salt and pepper, don't be afraid to add too much, and while we heat the lard... I bought this leg at a livestock shop here in Vilafranca that has all kinds of animals and sells them very well prepared, very well cut, very clean... And at a better price than in some shops. It's quality." ~BK_SLT_ Rubialo (brown it) and now we'll add a cinnamon stick. More salt and more pepper. When it's golden brown on one corner (over high heat, so you can spray "Well, we'll turn it over. When we add the cava, we'll loosen it up."

"The female duck is smaller than the male (the male is more talkative, too). If a male duck gives you two kilos, a female duck gives you four. And I choose her because she's more tender." When our wise woman tells us this, she joins her fingers, in an eloquent gesture that Víctor Català described as "making a magnolia," to indicate what she wants to explain.

"The lard is from Iberian pigs; sometimes bacon is added, of Something with more flavor than oil. And since we're in Vilafranca, we have to cook with cava or wine."

Our wise lady tells us that during the town's main festival, at her house—a house that doesn't need heating because the sun shines on it—there have been as many as twenty-two guests. "The children eat first and the adults later, if we're organized. The highlight of the town's festival is going to see the human towers. And watching the castellers, and I'm not here until the last one has finished. The first year I had guests, I found them at the door downstairs, and I'd just arrived from the towers. It was five o'clock!"

"For the town's main festival, what do I make? Cannelloni, stuffed squid, which are already waiting for them." Things that can be done ahead of time.

This idea from our wise woman is common sense. In a restaurant, they can serve us many different dishes, change the tableware... At home, for everyone to enjoy themselves at the table, including the cook, what's needed is a casserole dish, so everyone can serve themselves, have seconds, and have a change of dishes.

Where the castells go, I go.

"I love castells, I've followed them all my life. My husband started going to castells. We couldn't get my son, Carles, to follow until he was fourteen ('no, no,' he'd tell us) and since he started... -and she laughs as she explains- I don't think he's missed a single one of the 'there and there! I'll go.' To put away glasses, to put away nails... To put away whatever."

And here, while we wait for the leg to brown, Joana tells us one of those things, related to food, that makes us think there's still hope in the world:

"In the castellers there's a nutrition team that, when it's time to build castles outdoors... we cut them into cubes. Like fifteen melons and fifteen watermelons, you know? And we share them with the group, when it's hot, in the squares... We go with the trays "So they can be nourished and..."—she pauses and emphasizes the word—"hydrated." And now I feel like I'm helping. This year I was given a shirt, green, but I never wanted to wear it because I liked watching them and I thought, "With the two I already have," that's enough. She glances at the pot and says, "Let's see, it's..." pink "A little."

She lowers her leg, covers it again, and reminds us—and this is something every wise woman reminds us of—that cooking needs a gentle simmer and patience.

"I like to be alone in the kitchen. When people say to me, 'Can I help you?' I say no!" And that vehement expression makes us laugh—the whole ARA team recording, mic'ing, and taking notes—because we've heard it more than once. One of the wise women told us that when her husband asked her, "N!" "I got married and didn't know how to do anything. But I had a grandmother who was a professional cook. She went from house to house, she cooked for parties. I've never tasted my grandmother's beef with jus anywhere else. I say it's in my genes."

"Now we add a glass of cognac. Don't worry, it evaporates. Next, the pine nuts. We'll wait a little longer for the plums, otherwise they'll overcook."

"And now that this is quite golden, we'll add the cava. The whole bottle in. Be careful when opening it, because, of course, it doesn't need to go in the fridge, it's warm. And if it's warm, it might foam a little when we open it."

Pouring the cava and watching it is a unique spectacle. Now she adds the plums and says we'll have to wait about three-quarters of an hour, so we head to the sofa to kill time, and she shows us the things she makes that make her happy. Crocheted snowmen for the family and also for ARA, and her Instagram account, where she posts both dishes she cooks and crafts. "These are carquiñoles, San Juan cake, crystal cakes, Three Kings' cake... I sit in this chair and keep my head straight, it's good for my back. And I go to Pilates, we really like to go dancing..."

Upon hearing this, her husband and main admirer says, "The shoes, because the house shoes are slippery, and they'll give us a demonstration." "We don't do these online, okay?" she exclaims. And when I say we'll put on a "slow" song, they both make that "run away!" gesture. They want her fast.

"Alexa: Rock from the prison, please"He does (because even with Alexa they have manners). And then this rock music starts playing and the two of them, light, fleeting, and agile as spinning tops, show us that love lasts forever and that the greatest magic in life is being alive and laughing. We end up applauding like fans. 'I'm going to keep an eye on things.' He, also panting, says: 'And that's after having had knee surgery!'

He serves the casserole, superb. It melts in your mouth. She, critical, says that 'it needs a little more,' because she had to rush because of us. What a mix, simple. 'There's nothing like Penedés!' she paraphrases Carlos.

Notes

• This recipe, perfect for a big celebration, which you'll find among Joana's words, is very easy to make, because the magic lies in respecting the timing and having the best ingredient, which is the mute duck from Penedès.
• You'll see that Joana uses an induction cooktop and therefore uses a shallow casserole dish. You can also use an earthenware one (the one from home, seasoned over the years) or a large, beautiful cast iron one, the kind you find in hardware stores.
• All these dishes that require a morning or afternoon at home can be prepared the day before, and they're even better.
• The waiting time (which involves going in and out of the kitchen, as Joana does, to keep an eye on things) is perfect for doing healthy things, like dancing, chatting over a glass of cava, crocheting, reading...
• If we all decide to try Penedès Muscovy Duck at least once in our lives, the breeders will earn a living and we will be helping to save our heritage. Go buy the duck in the Penedès and visit wineries or the VinseumAnd the restaurants in the area, it's a "great plan".