Slow Cooked Duck Leg Ragù

• 4duck legs, about 1.2 kg including bones
• 300 mlchicken stock
• 6garlic cloves, minced
• 2 x 400gtins chopped tomatoes
• 2carrots, finely diced
• 2celery stalks, finely diced
• 2 tbsptomato puree
• Fine salt, to taste
• 2onions, finely diced
• 4sprigs fresh thyme, optional, removed before serving (optional)
• 400 mlfull-bodied red wine
• 2 tbspolive oil
• 3bay leaves, optional, removed before serving (optional)
• 15 gbasil leaves, torn
• 450 gdried pappardelle
• 50 gparmesan, finely grated (optional)
• Black pepper, to taste

Method

1. 1Preheat the oven to 160°C fan. Pat the duck legs thoroughly dry with kitchen paper. Season generously all over with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof casserole over a medium-high heat.
2. 2Sear the duck legs skin-side down in two batches if your pan is tight; don't crowd them, or they'll steam in their own moisture instead of building that deep golden crust. Six to eight minutes skin-side down until the skin is deep golden brown and the fat has rendered into a generous pool, then 3 minutes on the flesh side. Lift out and set aside.
3. 3Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the duck fat (save the rest in a jar; it is gold for roasting potatoes). Add the onion, carrot, and celery to the same pan, scraping up any stuck bits as they release. Fry over a medium heat for 8 minutes until soft, sweet, and just starting to catch at the edges.
4. 4Add the garlic and tomato purée and stir for 2 minutes. Watch the garlic; fragrant and pale gold is what you want, no more than 30 seconds before the purée joins it.
5. 5Pour in the red wine, scrape the base of the pan, and let it bubble briskly for 5 minutes; the sharp alcohol smell should fade and the liquid should look syrupy.
6. 6Add the chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, any optional thyme and bay leaves. Stir, then nestle the duck legs back in skin-side up so the liquid comes halfway up the legs.
7. 7Bring to a gentle simmer, cover tightly, and transfer to the oven for 2 hours. The duck is ready when the meat shrinks back from the bone and a fork slides through with no resistance.
8. 8Lift the duck legs onto a board. Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves, then simmer the sauce on the hob for 10 minutes until it looks glossy and deeply red and a spoon dragged through leaves a brief trail. Pull the meat from the bones in big chunks, discarding skin and bones, and stir it back through the reduced sauce.
9. 9Cook the pappardelle in boiling salted water according to the packet. Reserve a mug of cooking water, drain and toss with the ragù, adding a splash of the water to loosen the sauce.
10. 10Serve in warm bowls with torn basil and any optional grated Parmesan. To freeze the ragù, cool in shallow containers within 2 hours and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge and reheat until piping hot; cook pasta fresh when serving.

Per serving

kcal

460

protein

13.3g

fibre

6.2g

carbs

74.8g

fat

6.3g