This dish features picada, a Catalan base sauce made of crushed nuts, which both flavors and thickens the final sauce.

Ingredients

* 6 pieces of goose

* 1 tbsp olive oil

* 1 large onion

* 1 cinnamon stick, halved

* 4 thyme sprigs

* 2 cups chicken stock

* 3 firm, ripe pears

* 1/4 raisins

* salt, black peper

* young thyme sprigs or fresh parsley, to garnish

For the picada

* 2 tbsp olive oil

* 1/2 slice stale bread

* 2 garlic cloves

* 12 almonds, toasted

* 12 hazelnuts, toasted

* 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

* salt and black pepper

Cooking Time 1 hour
Serves 4
Vegetarian-friendly No

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Season the goose portions, pricking the skins with a fork. Fry them, skin side down, for about 5 minutes, until they give off fat. Turn them over and fry on the other side more briefly.

Transfer the goose to an ovenproof dish and drain off all but 1 tbsp of the fat left in the pan. Add the onion to the pan and fry for 5 minutes. Add the cinnamon, thyme and stock and bring to the boil. Pour over the duck, reserving a little of the stock, and bake for 1 1/4 hours.

Make the picada. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the bread over a hih heat Drain on kitchen paper and reserve. Briefly fry the garlic and reserve with the bread. Put all the nuts in a mortar and pound, or reduce to a paste in a food processor or blender. Add the bread, torn into pieces, and the garlic and reduce to a thick smooth paste with a little pan stock. add the parsley and seasoning.

Peel, core and halve the pears. Fry quickly in the oil in the frying pan until beginning to color on the cut sides.

Add the picada to the ovenproof dish with the raisins and pears. Bake for 15 minutes more until the pears are tender. Season to taste and garnish with thyme or parsley.
Notes
Wine Pairing: Sangre de Toro, crianza tinto 2004. DO Catalunya