Duck Bolognese Recipes

SIENNA MILLER'S DUCK RAGù

Steps:

• Get the duck out of the fridge and up to room temperature before you cook it. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
• Rub the duck all over with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper. Put into a snug-fitting roasting tray and roast for 2 hours, or until golden and cooked through, then remove the duck to a board and set the tray aside for later.
• Peel the onions, garlic and celery, then finely chop and place in a large, wide pan on a medium-low heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until softened and lightly golden, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, remove the duck skin and keep to one side (wear clean rubber gloves!), then shred the meat off the bones. Pour most of the Chianti into the pan and let it reduce for 10 to 15 minutes, then stir in the shredded duck meat.
• Stir the remaining splash of wine into the roasting tray and scrape all the lovely, crispy bits from the bottom, then pour into the pan. Scrunch in the tomatoes through your clean hands, then add 2 tins' worth of water.
• Stir in the raisins, strip in the rosemary leaves and add the bay leaves, then simmer for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until thickened and reduced - if you've got any Parmesan rind, throw that in too for an added flavour dimension (just remember to take it out before serving!).
• Meanwhile, peel the garlic and place in a food processor with the reserved duck skin. Tear in the bread, strip in the thyme leaves, then blitz until fine. Tip into a frying pan on a medium heat with ½ a tablespoon of olive oil and fry for 3 to 5 minutes, or until golden and crisp, stirring regularly. Decant into a small bowl.
• Make the Royal pasta dough. Once it's relaxed for 30 minutes, roll out on a clean flour-dusted surface into a rectangle roughly ½cm thick.
• Using a sharp knife, cut it into long ½cm strips, then with lightly oiled fingers gently roll each strip into a long thin sausage shape, starting at the middle and carefully rolling outwards, placing them on a semolina-dusted tray as you go.
• When the ragù has around 10 minutes to go, cook the pici in a large pan of boiling salted water for 6 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain, reserving a cupful of cooking water.
• Toss the pici with the ragù, adding a splash of extra virgin olive oil and a little reserved cooking water to loosen, if needed. Divide between bowls, then grate over some Parmesan, sprinkle over the pangrattato, and serve.

DUCK RAGU

Steps:

• In a large saute pan over medium-low heat, heat olive oil and add garlic, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, sage and nutmeg. Saute for 1 minute, then add carrot, onion and celery. Saute until vegetables just begin to soften, another minute or two, then add duck pieces skin side down.
• Raise heat to high, and sear duck pieces, stirring vegetables so they do not burn. Turn duck pieces to sear other side. When duck is lightly browned, add about a cup of wine, and stir gently while wine evaporates. Turn duck pieces again, and add another cup of wine, repeating procedure until all wine is gone and duck is dark brown.
• Reduce heat to medium. Add tomato paste and stock, stirring and scraping bottom of pan. Cook for a few more minutes, then remove from heat. Transfer duck pieces to a platter, and allow to cool. Set aside pan of sauce.
• When duck is cool enough to handle, remove all meat and cut into bite-size pieces. Remove sprigs of herbs and garlic cloves from sauce. Return duck meat to sauce, and place over medium heat. Add plum tomatoes, breaking them with a spoon. Simmer mixture until sauce has reduced and thickened slightly, about 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve over pappardelle.

CREAMY DUCK SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat; add ground duck. Cook and stir until no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and discard fat.
• Stir chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, spaghetti, heavy cream, and red pepper flakes into the duck. Reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring frequently, until pasta is tender and sauce is thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes.

DUCK BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Heat oil in large pot over medium high heat. Brown sausage and duck in oil, breaking up sausage with wooden spoon as it cooks. Remove meat and set aside.
• Add vegetables (onions through tomatoes) to the pot and cook until softened, approximately 5 minutes.
• Add white wine and put meat back in pot. Add chicken stock, tomato paste, milk, sage, and Parmesan cheese. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for several hours. Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve over your favorite pasta.

TAGLIATELLE WITH DUCK RAGù

Steps:

• Heat butter and oil in a deep 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until foam subsides.
• Meanwhile, pat duck dry and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
• Sear duck, skin side down, until golden brown and some of fat has rendered, about 6 minutes. Turn over and cook until browned, about 2 minutes more. Transfer duck to a plate, then add onion to fat in skillet with garlic, rosemary, and 1/8 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add wine and boil 3 minutes.
• Return duck, skin side up, to skillet, then add any juices from plate, stock, and tomatoes with their juice. Bring to a boil, then gently simmer, covered, 1 hour.
• Transfer duck to a cutting board, then skim off about three fourths of fat from sauce and discard.
• Purée sauce in batches in a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids). Return sauce to skillet and boil, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 2 1/2 cups, about 8 minutes.
• While sauce reduces, finely chop duck with skin.
• Return chopped duck to sauce and season with salt and pepper.
• Cook tagliatelle in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) until al dente, then drain pasta and toss with duck ragú.

DUCK RAGU

Steps:

• Finely chopped fresh parsley, for servingHeat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet or Dutch oven.
• Sprinkle the duck legs with salt and pepper. Sear in the hot pan until golden brown and crisp, 10 minutes. Remove to a plate.
• Add the carrots, celery and onions, and saute until soft, 3 minutes. Add the thyme and garlic, and saute until fragrant, 1 minute.
• Add the red wine. Use the back of a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits from the duck; this will add to the flavor of the finished sauce. Cook for 2 minutes, then stir in the tomatoes, some salt and pepper and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the seared duck back to the pan and cover. Simmer gently until the duck is extremely tender and falling off the bone, 1 hour and 30 minutes.
• Remove to a casserole dish to cool. Remove the skin and bones and discard. Chop the meat finely and add it back into the tomato sauce, adding a half a cup of water if it looks dry, and simmer, covered for 40 minutes.
• Serve over Homemade Pappardelle. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil serve with freshly grated Parmesan and parsley.
• Add the flour and salt to the center of a large wooden board. Use your hands and make a well in the center of the mound. Whisk together the eggs and olive oil in a bowl and pour into the well. Use a fork to whisk the eggs into the flour, incorporating slowly into the rim of the flour until it is completely incorporated.
• Once incorporated, knead the pasta for about 8 minutes, adding just a bit more flour if the board is sticky. If the dough feels too dry, add a drop of water as you go. The dough should feel elastic, smooth and a bit sticky. Shape the pasta dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Let rest for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature to let the gluten relax so rolling will be easier.
• Set your pasta machine to the widest setting. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece out from the widest setting to the thinnest. Hand cut the pasta into pappardelle.
• Gather the strands together in your hands and shake loosely so they don't stick together. Toss with some semolina flour. Divide into portions on a sheet tray.
• Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Boil the pasta until al dente and drain, about 3 minutes. Yield: About 1 pound.

DUCK BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Reconstitute the dried porcini mushrooms in a cup of hot water for 30 minutes. Drain mushrooms, squeeze dry, and chop coarsely; keep liquid for another use. (See note at end.) Chop coarsely the celery, carrots, onion, fennel and garlic. Put together with the mushrooms in a food processor to chop into a fine mixture. Saute in oil over med-high heat for 10-15 minutes, until it has browned a little. A large saute pan is best, to avoid crowding. Add duck, mix with vegetables, and cook until brown. After browned, add brandy and then red wine. Cook until wine is almost cooked off. Add 2 cans of chopped tomatoes with their juice. Drain juice from 3rd can, keeping the juice, and adding tomatoes to the pan. (This can all be moved to a heavy pot at this point). Add crushed juniper berries, thyme, sage, bay leaf and heavy cream. Add pepper to taste. Mix together the juice drained from the 1 can of tomatoes with the can of chicken stock, and keep nearby. Bring sauce to a simmer and let cook, partially covered, for several hours, watching the sauce so that it doesn't dry out. When the liquid is getting so low that the solids are barely sticking to the bottom of the pot, add the tomato juice/chicken stock mixture, little by little, so that it doesn't become too soupy. If that liquid runs out, add more chicken stock or just water. Once the sauce has cooked for an hour, it is good to go, but more cooking time will mean a deeper sauce. Makes enough sauce for 1.5 - 2 lbs dried pasta. (Note: I always forget to soak the dried porcinis early enough. So I usually start them soaking when I begin the rest of the dish, then when they are ready, I quickly saute them alone in a bit of oil, and once browned, add them to the pot, wherever it is in the cooking process. For an even deeper flavor, some of the porcini liquid can be added in, although add too much and it will dominate.)