Duck Sugo With Pappardelle Recipe Bolognese

DUCK SUGO WITH PAPPARDELLE.

Steps:

• Bring 1 cup of stock to boil and pour over dried porcinis. Allow to stand for 30 minutes. Remove rehydrated porcinis, squeeze dry and chop, reserving liquid. Strain through cheese cloth, to remove any grit that might be in the porcinis.
• Roughly chop onion and celery and puree finely in food processor with sage, rosemary, and 1/2 cup of parsley. Heat duck fat in skillet, then add puréed mixture. Finely mince garlic and add to sautéed mixture. Then add your rehydrated porcinis and sauté a few more minutes.
• Deglaze pan with white wine, then add stock and reserved porcini liquid and simmer for about half an hour or until reduced to desired consistency.
• Add shredded duck, heating well and allow all flavors to marry, adjusting with salt and pepper to taste.
• Prepare pasta and drain. Rough chop remaining parsley. Toss duck mixture with pasta, sprinkle with parsley and Parmesan (or Manchego).

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.

SIOPAO (FILIPINO STEAMED BUNS)

Steps:

• Mix flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together in a large bowl. Add water and 1/4 cup oil; mix into a dough. Knead until smooth and elastic, at least 10 minutes. Dust with extra flour if necessary.
• Warm up the oven for 1 minute. Turn oven off.
• Oil a large bowl; place dough inside and cover with cheesecloth. Place in the warmed oven until size has doubled, about 1 hour.
• Punch down dough. Keep in the oven until risen, at least 15 minutes more. Knead dough onto a flat work surface and divide into 12 golf-sized balls. Roll out each ball and fill with choice of filling (see footnote for my chicken and pork filling). Gather and twist the edges together to secure the filling.
• Place each siopao on a 3x3-inch piece of wax paper.
• Place siopao in a steamer and steam for 30 minutes.

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.

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.

PAPPARDELLE WITH DUCK BOLOGNESE AND TUSCAN KALE

Steps:

• Trim the excess flap of skin on each duck leg and remove visible fat. Season all over with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Add the duck, skin side down, and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer the duck to a platter. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat.
• Add the pancetta to the pot and cook over medium heat until it renders some of its fat and begins to crisp. Add the onions, celery, carrot, and parsley and sauté until the vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and wine. Bring to a simmer and reduce until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Return the duck to the pot, skin side up. Add the stock and the Parmesan rind (if using) and bring to a simmer. Cover and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Simmer until the meat is tender and pulls readily from the bone, about 1 1/2 hours. Lift the duck legs out of the sauce and set them aside to cool.
• Tear each kale leaf into 3 or 4 pieces. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the kale and blanch for 30 seconds, then drain in a sieve and cool quickly under cold running water. Squeeze well to remove excess water. Finely chop.
• Pull the duck meat off the bones and dice it. Return it to the sauce and reheat gently. Stir in the kale and the milk. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes to blend the flavors.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Set aside 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Toss well, moistening if necessary with some of the reserved pasta water. Divide among warm bowls and serve immediately. Pass Parmesan cheese, if desired.
• Enjoy with Cakebread Cellars Carneros Pinot Noir or another rich Pinot Noir.

PAPPARDELLE WITH LONG-COOKED RABBIT SUGO

Steps:

• Trim the rabbit pieces of any fat, rinse them well, and pat dry.
• Using the food processor, mince the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and basil for 15 to 20 seconds, to a paste.
• Season the rabbit pieces all over with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pour the olive oil into the saucepan, and set over medium heat. Lay all the meat in the pan, and let the pieces caramelize gradually, turning them every couple of minutes, until lightly browned on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Scrape in the pestata, and stir it around the pan, tumbling the rabbit pieces over to coat them with the paste. Sprinkle in the peperoncino and keep stirring, scraping up the browned bits on the pan bottom and sides, as the pestata steams and sizzles.
• When the pestata is dry and starting to stick in the pan, pour in 2 cups or so of hot stock, almost to cover the meat. Sprinkle in 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring the liquid to a boil, adjust the heat to keep it perking gently, and cook partially covered, occasionally turning the rabbit pieces and stirring up the seasonings. As the liquid reduces, stir in another cup of hot stock every 20 minutes or so. Cook 1 1/2 hours or more, until the rabbit meat is quite tender; then turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let the sugo cool completely.
• Remove the rabbit pieces from the braising juices, and pull all the meat off the bones. Discard bones and cartilage; shred the meat in bite-sized morsels, and stir it back in the juices. Add more stock so the sauce has a flowing consistency, heat to a simmer, and cook for another 15 minutes or longer, until the meat is moist and melded with the sauce. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• While the sauce is hot, toss in pappardelle (as detailed in the preceding recipe), other pasta, or gnocchi. Or cool the sauce to use later; thin it with stock when reheating.