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Venetian duck ragu in bowl with pasta, bread roll and fork in background

Venetian Duck Ragu

By: Deborah
With a lovely warm and comforting flavour, cooked slowly on the hob...it's definitely worth the wait!
PREP: 15 minutes
COOK: 2 hours 30 minutes
TOTAL: 2 hours 45 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 6 people
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Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 duck legs
  • 2 large onions finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic crushed
  • 250 ml (1 cup) red wine
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp plain flour
  • 1 chicken stock cube or pot (made up to 250ml)
  • 800 g (28.2 oz) tins chopped tomatoes
  • 3 sprigs rosemary leaves picked and chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 450 g (15.9 oz) 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 cube or pot, herbs, sugar and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. 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 skin, 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

    • 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.
    • 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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Nutrition

Calories: 483kcal | Carbohydrates: 70g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 413mg | Potassium: 564mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 190IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 96mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

KEYWORDS comfort food, duck ragu, ragu sauce for pasta, winter warmer
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