This venetian duck ragu recipe is from the March 2014 BBC Good Food magazine. I made it quite a few times around then and saved it in the Zest app that I used to use prior to setting up Felly Bull. It hadn't been made for quite a while, until now...but is definitely one worth sharing! David isn't a huge fan of cinnamon, but the taste is quite subtle in this dish. It has a lovely warm and comforting flavour and although it takes a bit of time to cook slowly on the hob...it's definitely worth the wait.

Tips

The original recipe suggests paccheri pasta or pappardelle. When I’ve made it previously I’ve used paccheri pasta, although it's not the easiest pasta to find in our local supermarket. Most recently I filled conchiglioni (large pasta shells) – I’ve added the extra instructions at step 4 below if you fancy trying it like this.
The recipe is easily halved if you want to make less sauce…remember to reduce the amount of pasta you cook too. However, the sauce can be frozen, so if you do make the full amount and have leftovers, it won't go to waste!

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Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
4 duck legs
2 onions, finely chopped
2 fat garlic cloves, crushed
250ml red wine
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp plain flour
1 chicken stock cube or pot, made up to 250ml
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
3 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked and chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp milk
600g paccheri or pappardelle pasta (see Tips)
grated parmesan, to serve

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Instructions

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or casserole dish on a medium to high heat. Add the duck legs and brown on all sides for about 10 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside. Add the onions to the pan, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute, then stir in the cinnamon and flour and cook for another minute. Return the duck to the pan, add the wine, tomatoes, stock, herbs, sugar and seasoning. Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat, cover with a lid and cook for 2 hours, stirring every now and then.
Carefully lift the duck legs out of the sauce and place on a plate – they will be very tender so try not to lose any of the meat. Pull off and discard the fat, then shred the meat with 2 forks and discard the bones. Add the meat back to the sauce with the milk and simmer, uncovered, for a further 10 to 15 minutes while you cook the pasta.
Cook the pasta following pack instructions, then drain, reserving a cup of the pasta water, and add the pasta to the ragu. Stir to coat all the pasta in the sauce and cook for 1 minute more, adding a splash of cooking liquid if it looks dry. Serve with grated parmesan…and some homemade bread?!
IF USING CONCHIGLIONI - cook as per the packet instructions, then drain, reserving a cup of the pasta water (to add if the sauce looks dry). Arrange the shells open side up in a serving dish then add a small amount of grated parmesan to each shell, and then a spoonful of the sauce. Once all of the shells are filled, spoon the remaining sauce on top and garnish with more grated parmesan.

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