Duck Ragout with Egg Yolk Pappardelle

 

This recipe comes from three little halves and Aleksandra Mojsilovic

https://www.threelittlehalves.com/2014/12/poor-mans-christmas-rich-mans-christmas.html

for the ragout

* 1 Long Island duck about 5 lbs (alternatively, 1 duck breast and 2 duck thighs, for a grand total of about 1 lb duck meat)
* 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
* 2 medium carrots, cut into 1/8-inch dice
* 6 oz smoked bacon
* 3 large garlic cloves, minced
* 1 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes (I used San Marzano)
* 1 1/2 - 2 cups robust red wine
* 1 cup ruby port (I used Fonseca)
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 small sprig of rosemary
* 1 tsp brown sugar
* 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
* salt and freshly ground pepper


to assemble

* 1 lb 4 oz egg yolk pappardelle (see below for recipe)
* 2-3 tbs butter
* freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano 
* good quality extra virgin olive oil for drizzling (optional)


Disassemble the duck. Remove the skin and fat and keep on the side (you will not be using them in this dish). Remove the meat from the bones, trying to keep as much meat as possible. Reserve the bones to make duck stock.

Grind the duck meat coarsely or chop by hand (you want the consistency of sausage meat). Cut the bacon into 1/8–inch dice.

In a medium sized Dutch oven heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until bacon is nicely browned. Remove the bacon and keep the fat in the pan. Heat again and add the duck meat. Cook until the meat is nicely browned. You might have to do this in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan, as the meat will not brown. Remove the meat and discard all but two tablespoons of fat.

Add the onion to the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened, about 5 minutes. Add the carrot and continue to cook, until the carrots begin to soften, about 5-10 minutes. Add the garlic, duck meat and bacon, tomatoes, wine, port, bay leaves and rosemary, and simmer over low heat for about 2-3 hours. Remove from the heat and season generously with salt and pepper. (You can prepare the ragout a day before and keep in the fridge. It also freezes well.)

When ready to serve, heat the ragout. Heat a large pot of salted water until boiling. Cook the pasta for about 4-5 minutes (or according to your taste). Drain the pasta. Reserve about 1/4 cup of pasta water. Add the pasta back to the pot, add the cooking water and butter and cook over low heat for another minute or two, until the butter has melted and emulsified.

Spoon the pasta into individual plates. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the pasta. Top with the ragout and a generous amount of Parmigiano Reggiano.

Egg Yolk Pappardelle


* 7 oz (200 g) semolina (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
* 7 oz (200 g) all purpose flour (I used King Arthur Organic Unbleached Flour)
* 2 large organic eggs
* 8 organic yolks


Pour the flour into a bowl. Make a crater in the flour and crack the eggs and egg yolks into it. Mix the eggs with a fork until they are completely blended with the flour. Knead the mixture with your hands until it is somewhat homogenous. If the mixture is too dry, add a bit of water; if it is too soft, add a bit more flour. (Bear in mind that this dough is somewhat more difficult to work with than the traditional dough with eggs.) Remove the mixture from the bowl and place it onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough with the heel of your hand for about ten to fifteen minutes until the dough is smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Make the dough sheets: Cut a piece of dough and using a rolling pin flatten it into a rectangle thin enough to go through the rollers at the widest setting. Feed the dough through the rollers, then lay the dough down on the work surface and flour it lightly. Fold the sides of the dough towards the center to make a rectangle, and lightly flour both sides. Flatten the dough with the rolling pin until it is ready to go through the rollers again. Now you are ready to work the dough through the machine, by progressively reducing the width of the rollers. Starting at the second to widest setting, pass the dough repeatedly through the rollers two times at each setting. Then set the rollers one notch narrower and repeat. Roll the pasta sheet finishing with the second thinnest setting.

At this point you can cut the pasta sheets by hand lengthwise into inch thick pappardelle. Or, if you have the attachment for the machine dust the pasta sheet with semolina and pass it through the cutter. Gently gather the papparedelle and place them on the drying rack. If you are not using the rack, carefully shape the pasta into small nested mounds on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper and dusted with semolina.

Cook right away or place the pasta mounds onto a tray, cover with plastic wrap tightly and store in the fridge or freezer.

Yields about 1 lb 4 oz (550g) of pasta