• 2 ducks, about 1.5–1.8 kg/3½–4 lbs each, prepared ready for roasting

Heat the butter in a saucepan and fry the onions for 3–4 minutes, stirring all the time. Add the rice and continue stirring until all the grains are coated with the butter. Then add all the other ingredients, except the stock and the pistachios. Continue stirring for 2 more minutes; then add the stock.

Stir once more, cover the pan, and simmer for 15 minutes. Then remove the pan from the heat but leave it covered for another 15 minutes. Then uncover and mix in the chopped pistachios. Adjust the seasoning, and leave the rice stuffing to get really cold.

As you prepare to cook the ducks, preheat the oven to 240°C/475°F/ Gas Mark 9. Divide the cold rice stuffing equally between the ducks, stuff them and sew the flaps shut or close them with wooden cocktail sticks. Rub the ducks with salt and pepper and put them on a rack in the roasting tray, then into the oven. After 40 minutes, turn the temperature down to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Leave the ducks to roast for another 35–50 minutes, making 1¼–1½ hours altogether.

When you take the ducks out of the oven, put them on a large serving platter and let them rest there for 5 minutes. Then cut each duck lengthways into halves, and serve immediately.