DUCK RAGU

I was determined to use up the forgotten goodies lurking at the bottom of my freezer, but then a couple of juicy duck legs winked at me in the supermarket. Before I knew it, they’d landed in my trolley, and my Saturday evening fate was sealed. This recipe freezes particularly well, so I cooked the two duck legs in this Ragu for dinner, and have enough to freeze for one of my ”can’t cook, won’t cook” evenings.

This is a very satisfying pasta dish, and the duck gives it a slightly ‘special occasion’ feel.

EQUIPMENT:

• A large, deep stove top saucepan or casserole
• a baking tray

INGREDIENTS: this recipe feeds 4 people very generously

• 2 duck legs, dried, rubbed with olive oil, and sprinkled with salt
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 stick of celery, finely chopped (optional)
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• a sprig of rosemary – very finely chopped
• a level teaspoon of dried oregano
• 1 level teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1 level dessert spoon of plain flour
• 1 chicken stock cube, made up to 250mls with boiling water
• good sized glass of red wine
• 2 tins of tomatoes (or one tin, and a jar of Passata)
• 2 heaped teaspoons of sun-dried tomato paste
• pasta, (usually pappardelle or linguine) to serve

METHOD:

• dry the duck legs, rub them with a little olive oil, and sprinkle them with salt

• heat the pan until it’s hot, add the duck and let it seal and brown on both sides (about 5 minutes)

• Transfer duck to a baking tray and put it into the oven for 50 minutes at 180 degrees

Then make the sauce:

• In the same pan, pour away most of the rendered fat from the duck legs, then add the chopped onions, celery and garlic, reduce the heat and let them soften, but not colour – about 10 minutes.
• Add the plain flour and cinnamon powder, and mix in.

• Increase the heat, then add the stock and red wine, and allow to reduce a little.
• Add the tomatoes, passata, rosemary, oregano and bay leaves.

• Season with salt and pepper
• Reduce the heat, cover, and leave the sauce simmering gently.

• When then 50 minutes are up,  remove the duck legs from the oven, and place them on a chopping board to cool a little.

• Using a couple of forks, shred the meat off the bones – you can choose whether you want to put the crispy skin into the dish or discard it –

• Fold the meat into the tomato sauce. Remove the bay leaves.
• You can freeze it at this stage, or cool it for use later – like most pasta sauces, it will certainly taste even better tomorrow – or simply eat it now.

TO SERVE:

• Serve with your chosen pasta, a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan and  some tasty garlic or warmed crusty bread