Duck Confit Papperdelle Recipes

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.

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 CONFIT PAPPERDELLE

Steps:

• *To slow roast raw duck legs, first pat them dry. Prick skin all over with needle to help render out fat. Salt all over generously. Place skin side up in a 300°F oven in a casserole dish just small enough to fit them without overlapping. Cook for about 90 minutes or until the skin starts pulling away from the bones and getting crispy. Turn up the heat to 375°F for 15 minutes until duck starts to get light golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Method 1 Pick all the meat off the duck legs and reserve the skin. Tear the meat and skin into smallish pieces. 2 Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the butter and duck fat and the duck meat and skin. Turn the heat down to medium. 3 Put the pasta in the boiling water. Stir it from time to time. 4 Add the garlic to the sauté pan and mix well. Watch the garlic: The moment it begins to brown turn off the heat. 5 Drain the pasta when it is al dente, or use tongs to take it from the boiling water right into the sauté pan. Turn the heat back on to medium. Toss the pasta in the sauté pan, making sure it is all coated well. Add more duck fat if needed. Add some black pepper and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and toss again. Taste and add the second tablespoon of lemon juice if you want. Serve immediately with the lemon zest sprinkled on top.

CONFIT DUCK PASTILLA

Steps:

• Heat a large cast-iron pan and add the fat. Cook the onion gently for 5 mins until soft. Add the cinnamon stick, the tied herbs and the duck, and give the pan a good shake.
• Add enough water to the pan to just cover the duck. Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for 20 mins. Remove the duck to a plate and discard the herbs and cinnamon stick. Bring the liquid to a boil and reduce by half. Beat the eggs and the yolks along with half the icing sugar and half the ground cinnamon. Remove the pan from the heat, pour in the egg mixture and stir like mad to stop it catching. Simmer on the lowest possible heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens to a custard-like sauce. Be careful not to overcook or the mix may curdle. Stir through the almonds and leave to cool.
• Shred the duck meat, discarding the skin and bones. Mix with the sauce, add the chopped parsley and coriander, and season well.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Brush a 23cm loose-bottomed cake tin with melted butter and layer in the pastry, lightly brushing with melted butter between each layer - leaving enough overhanging so it can be folded to seal the filling. Add the duck filling, then fold over and brush the top with more butter. Bake for 30 mins until golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little before turning out. Sprinkle with the remaining icing sugar and cinnamon before serving.

PAPPARDELLE WITH MUSHROOMS AND DUCK

Steps:

• Soak the porcini in one cup boiling water for 30 minutes. Trim the stalks from the fresh mushrooms. Wash off any grit under cold running water or use a soft brush or clean towel to clean them (do not soak them or they will become soggy). Slice the mushrooms into one-and-a-half-inch pieces.
• Using a large skillet, soften the garlic and the shallots in two tablespoons butter and the tablespoon of oil.
• Strain the porcini through a paper towel, reserving the soaking liquid. Chop the porcini. Add the mushrooms to the skillet with the thyme, salt and pepper and red wine. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. Add the porcini, cooking liquid and continue to cook over moderate heat until the sauce becomes thick and syrupy.
• Meanwhile, scrape the fat off the duck meat and cut the meat into strips. Then bring six quarts of salted water to a boil for the pappardelle.
• Add the duck meat to the sauce and cook it over moderate heat for 10 minutes. Correct the seasoning and keep the sauce warm.
• Drain the pappardelle and toss with the remaining tablespoon of butter. Spoon the sauce over the noodles, toss and serve.

PAPPARDELLE WITH LONG-COOKED DUCK SUGO

Steps:

• Prepare the pasta dough and chill it.
• Trim all the excess skin and fat from the duck legs. Heat 2 cups of the stock, and pour it over the dried porcini. Let soak for 1/2 hour or longer. When the mushrooms have softened, drain and squeeze them, reserving all the soaking liquid; chop the porcini into 1/2-inch pieces.
• Using the food processor, mince the onion, celery, garlic, and all the fresh herbs for 20 to 30 seconds, to a moist paste, or pestata.
• Set the big pan over medium-high heat, and film the bottom with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Lay all the duck legs in the pan, skin side down; sprinkle on 1/2 teaspoon salt, and sizzle for a couple of minutes, until the skin side is browned. Flip the legs over and continue cooking, adjusting the heat and moving the meat as needed, until nicely browned all over, then remove them to a bowl or platter.
• If you want to continue cooking with the duck fat, leave 4 tablespoons of it in the pan. Otherwise, pour it all out and use 4 tablespoons of olive oil instead. Return the saucepan to the heat, and scrape in all of the paste from the food-processor bowl. Stir it all over the hot pan, scraping up the browned bits, for 2 minutes or so, until it is nearly dry and toasting.
• Return all the duck legs to the pan, and tumble them in the hot pestata. Scatter in the chopped porcini, stir and toss with the legs, and cook for several minutes, until everything is sizzling.
• Pour in the wine, raise the heat, and turn and tumble the duck and seasonings until the wine has almost cooked away. Pour in the porcini-soaking liquid (leave any mushroom sediment in the container), and sprinkle another 1/2 teaspoon salt all over. Heat to a boil, turning the duck legs and stirring to amalgamate all the seasonings in the broth.
• Set the cover ajar-leaving a crack for evaporation-and cook at an actively bubbling simmer, turning the duck frequently. Add stock every 20 minutes or whenever needed, so the liquid level is about two-thirds of the way up the meat. After 1 1/2 hours or so, when the duck is quite tender and loose on the bone, turn off the heat, and let the legs cool completely in the covered pan.
• Remove the duck legs from the saucepan, and pull all the meat off the bones. Discard the bones and cartilage; tear the meat into good-sized shreds. Spoon fat from the sauce, and stir in the meat. If the sauce is dense, loosen it to a flowing consistency with more stock; heat to a bubbling simmer, and cook for another 15 minutes. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Let the sauce cool again, or use some or all of it to dress the pappardelle now.
• To dress 1 pound of pappardelle, put half the sauce in a wide skillet (or the same pan you cooked it in, if you are using it right away); use all the sauce if cooking 2 pounds pappardelle. Have the sauce at a simmer when you drop the pasta into the cooking water. If it is concentrated, moisten it with stock or hot pasta water.
• Cook the pappardelle in at least 6 quarts of salted water (8 quarts or more for 2 pounds), at a rolling boil, just until al dente, about 2 or 3 minutes. With a spider, lift the strands from the pot, briefly drain, and lower them into the sauce. Toss the pappardelle over and over to dress them thoroughly-if the sauce is too thick, loosen it with spoonfuls of pasta-cooking water; if the sauce is soupy, cook rapidly, tossing the pasta, until it thickens.
• Turn off the heat, and toss the pasta with half of the grated cheese; drizzle over it a final flourish of olive oil. Serve from the skillet, or pile the pappardelle in a large warm serving bowl. Pass more cheese at the table.
• Fresh Pasta for Pappardelle (and Tortelli Maremmani)
• Put the flour in the bowl of the food processor and process for a few seconds to aerate. Mix the egg, egg yolks, and olive oil in a measuring cup or other spouted container.
• With the machine running, pour the liquids quickly through the feed tube on top of the flour. After 20 seconds, most of the dough should clump up on the blade. Process for another 15 seconds or so-no more than 40 seconds total. (If the dough does not gather on the blade and process easily, it is too wet or too dry. Feel the dough, then work in either more flour or some ice water, in small amounts, using the machine or kneading by hand.)
• Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead it by hand for a minute, until it's smooth, soft, and stretchy. Press it into a disk, wrap well in plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature for 1/2 hour.
• To roll out the dough in a pasta machine, cut the pound of dough into four equal pieces. Work with one at a time, keeping the others covered. Run the first piece of dough through the rollers at the widest setting several times, to develop strength and smoothness. Repeat with all the pieces. Reset the machine to a narrower setting, and run the first piece through, extending it into a rectangular strip. Let the rollers move the dough, and catch it in your hand as it comes out. Roll it again, to stretch and widen it. Lightly flour and cover the strip, then stretch the other pieces.
• Roll and stretch all the pieces at progressively narrower settings, until they spread as wide as the rollers (usually about 5 inches) and stretch to 20 inches or longer. Cut the four long pasta strips in half crosswise, giving you eight sheets, each about a foot long and 5 inches wide. Lay these flat on the trays in layers, lightly floured, separated, and covered by towels.
• Lay out a rolled sheet on the floured board; dust the top with flour. Starting at one of the short ends, fold the sheet over on itself in thirds or quarters, creating a small rectangle with three or four layers of pasta.
• With a sharp knife, cut cleanly through the folded dough crosswise, in 2-inch-wide strips. Separate and unfold the strips, shaking them into long noodles. Sprinkle them liberally with flour so they don't stick together. Fold, cut, and unfurl all the rolled pasta sheets this way, and spread them out on a floured tray. Leave them uncovered, to air-dry at room temperature, until ready to cook.