Venetian Duck Ragu
With a lovely warm and comforting flavour, cooked slowly on the hob...it's definitely worth the wait!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 duck legs
- 2 onions finely chopped
- 2 fat cloves garlic 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
- 450g paccheri or pappardelle pasta (see Notes)
- grated parmesan to serve
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!
Notes
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- 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. Rigatoni and penne pasta also work well.
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- 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!