Venetian Duck Ragu

I always thought a meal like this would be off the cards when trying to eat healthily, but if this recipe proves anything its that, with an element of portion control you really can eat whatever you fancy!

I used paccheri pasta (found it in Morrison’s) but it would be equally as nice with a nice chunky pasta like pappardelle. The sauce may take a little while to simmer but don’t let that put you off, it only takes about fifteen minutes to get going and then you can basically leave it to simmer while you potter around. If you knew you had to leave the house you could even pop it in a low oven or in the slow cooker! The sauce is so rich and luxurious and it feels like a real treat of a meal!

 

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Ingredients
Serves 4 = 12sp each

240g dried pasta of your choice

1 tsp olive oil

2 x Duck Legs (around 450g, gives you around 250g of meat)

1 carrot, peeled and finely diced

1 stick of celery, finely diced

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 x garlic cloves, finely chopped

250g chestnut mushrooms, quartered

1 tsp each cinnamon and plain flour

125ml red wine

1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

150ml of chicken stock (made with 1 chicken stock cube)

Dash of tabasco

2 sprigs of rosemary, picked and finely chopped

2 bay leaves

1 tsp crushed chillies

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp single cream

30g fresh parmesan, grated

Method

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan then add the duck legs and brown on both sides for around 10 minutes. Once brown, remove the duck from the pan, pop on to a plate and put to one side.
  2. In the same pan, add the onions and fry for 5 minutes until softened. Add a little water if the onions start to stick to the pan. Then add the garlic and the mushrooms and cook for a further two minutes.
  3. Next stir in the cinnamon and flour and cook for another minute, then pop the duck back into the pan and add the wine, tomatoes, stock, tabasco, herbs, chillies and sugar.
  4. Season with salt and pepper, bring everything to a simmer, then lower the heat, cover with a lid (or tin foil) and cook in the pan on low for 2 hours, stirring every now and then.
  5. After two hours, remove the duck legs out of the sauce. Shred the meat with 2 forks and bin the bones.
  6. Add the meat back to the sauce with the single cream, season and simmer, uncovered, for a further 10-15 minutes while you cook the pasta.
  7. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add to the sauce. Add a little of the pasta water too.
  8. Stir well and cook the pasta in the sauce for a minute and then serve in four nice big bowls.
  9. Top with a little fresh parmesan.
    1. Enjoy!

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15 thoughts on “Venetian Duck Ragu

  1. amberboo says:

    Tried this dish last night(but with a duck crown), it was amazing. I cook a lot but have never used those combination of flavours. Will be making this again soon. Thank you!

  2. Me says:

    One of my favourites lost count of how many times I have made this, my son who is not dieting really enjoys it, thanks

  3. Judith Ray says:

    Hi Laura
    I am Margaret Craddock’s sister in law Judith and I joined WW last week and have lost 41/2 pounds. I am following some of your recipes and would like to try this one. I have a whole duck to cook and wondered if I could use cooked duck and reduce cooking time. What do you suggest? X

    • lakettle says:

      Hey Judith! Good work on losing 4 1/2 pounds so far. You could do yes, I would double check the points through the recipe builder but there shouldn’t be any harm. I would just let the sauce simmer for an hour, then add the cooked shredded duck and simmer for another half an hour. Should be just as good 🙂

  4. Nat says:

    This recipe is amazing! Both my partner and I absolutely loved it. Will definitely be making this again. Thank you!

  5. Su says:

    So tasty, left in slower cooker all day so just had to cook pasta and add cream when I got home from work. Love ❤️ your recipes

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