Duck Bolognese Food

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.

WEEKNIGHT BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground sirloin and cook, crumbling the meat with a wooden spoon, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the meat has lost its pink color and has started to brown. Stir in the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 more minute. Pour 1 cup of the wine into the skillet and stir to scrape up any browned bits. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper, stirring until combined. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a tablespoon of salt, a splash of oil, and the pasta, and cook according to the directions on the box.
• While the pasta cooks, finish the sauce. Add the nutmeg, basil, cream, and the remaining 1/4 cup wine to the sauce and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened. When the pasta is cooked, drain and pour into a large serving bowl. Add the sauce and 1/2 cup Parmesan and toss well. Serve hot with Parmesan on the side.

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.)

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.

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.

MARIO BATALI'S FETTUCCINE BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat.
• Add onions, celery and garlic an saute until vegetables are tender and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.
• Increase heat to high; add veal, pork, pancetta or bacon and saute until meat is brown, breaking up meat with the back of a fork, about 10 minutes.
• Add tomatoes with their juices, 1 3/4 cups chicken broth, milk and thyme.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 1 hour 15 minutes, breaking up tomatoes with the back of a spoon, adding more chicken broth if mixture is too thick and stirring occasionally.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Cook fettuccine in large pot of boiling water just until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally.
• Drain.
• Add fettuccine to pot with ragu and toss to blend.
• Transfer to large bowl.
• Sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan.
• Serve, passing remaining Parmesan seperately.

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.

VENETIAN DUCK RAGU

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the duck legs and brown on all sides for about 10 mins. Remove to a plate and set aside. Add the onions to the pan and cook for 5 mins until softened. Add the garlic and cook for a further 1 min, then stir in the cinnamon and flour and cook for a further min. 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 hrs, 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 10-15 mins 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 min more, adding a splash of cooking liquid if it looks dry. Serve with grated Parmesan, if you like.