by Frans van Heerden: https://www.pexels.com/photo/pears-1844302/Joanna Simon explains the history and preparation of ànec rostit amb peres, aka pato con peras or duck with pears, and tries to settle on the best wines to drink with the typically sweet-savory dish. Catalan cuisine has a personality of its own that has been maintained even with the passing of the years or centuries, or with the advent of new products or with the vagaries of fashion. Among them is ànec rostit amb peres, duck with pears, or pato con peras in Spanish. Fast forward to today and ànec amb peres, a classic savoury dish with fruit in a sauce thickened with another cornerstone of Calalan cooking, a picada, a paste of pounded nuts, garlic and other flavourings. On the Cuina Catalana website, there are also recipes for duck with figs, peaches, cherries, orange, raisins and prunes.