Petto di Anatra ai Lamponi

Davanti pan-fries duck breast, slices it thinly and serves it cold with escarole, dandelion greens, red endive, arugula, raspberries and radishes. Rich duck is refreshed by the leaves’ bitter and peppery tones; raspberries bring tart fruit; radishes add a crisp bite; and herb vinaigrette with raspberry vinegar keeps the whole plate bright.

The many-leaf salad has an Italian cultural cousin in misticanza, a seasonal mixture of cultivated and wild greens. Visit Lazio describes it as a sweet-bitter meeting of raw, spontaneous and aromatic herbs, including dandelion and wild radish. That tradition grew from close knowledge of the fields: cooks learned which leaves were tender, which were bracing and how a varied handful could turn bitterness into complexity.