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Mother of Souls Chapter 2

Even with the kitchen calling, Luzie went upstairs to change first. It was no time of year to let damp clothing give her chill and a fever. Floodtide meant the risk of river fever, whether the waters rose or not.

Her nose hadn’t deceived her: Mefro Chisillic had made potenez. The rich aroma of duck and garlic and lentils brought back a flood of childhood memories. “Oh Silli, how did you know exactly what I’d be wanting today?” she said. Nostalgia brought the childish nickname easily to her lips, but the cook never minded.

“Because my bones say there’s a storm brewing,” Chisillic answered. “And you always did like potenez when it’s wet outside. You know what they say, ducks like rain and rain likes ducks.”

* * *

On a whim, I picked up a small duck at the market and decided to make a stab at developing a recipe for Alpennian potenez. It's meant to be a no-nonsense hearty comfort food, rather than haute cuisine. So here's version #1.

Remove the legs and breast from a duck, then cut the remainder of the carcass into a few pieces. Brown all the pieces in a large casserole dish and render enough fat out of the skin for the next step, then remove the duck from the pot.

Chop one medium onion and about ten cloves of garlic and saute in the duck fat until browned.

In the mean time, set aside the legs and breast of the duck, and tie the rest of the carcass loosely into a cheesecloth bag. When the onions are browned, add the carcass and water to fill the casserole, then simmer, covered, until a rich broth is formed.

Take the reserved parts of the duck and cut the legs from the thighs, and slice the breast into thin strips. When the broth is ready, remove the carcass and add a cup of small lentils (green or black -- not the large tan-colored ones) and the leg and breast meat.

Simmer until the lentils are cooked. Salt to taste. Serve, making sure each serving includes some of the meat.

(Note: there's still quite a bit of meat on the carcass in the cheesecloth bag, so refrigerate it to pick over later.)

* * *

It turned out very tasty. Just the thing for a cold, wet afternoon in Rotenek when rain is sweeping across the Rotein in sheets, but you know that there are still months to go before floodtide.