Now its no secret that I love a good ragu, by far my favourite has to be wild boar, but recently I came across this recipe and it is delicious. We have a very special family feast coming up soon, which of course will be an Italian theme and course after course of deliciousness will be served.

Hubby and I decided we should try the recipe out before the big day and since making it I have found a recipe that also has 15 grams of dried porcini mushrooms and the zest of 2 oranges and juice of 1 orange, I think I will be adding these to the dish next time as I think it will really add to the flavour.

Just soak the porcini mushrooms for 20min in just enough boiling water to cover them, then drain, reserving the liquid to add with the stock, chop finely and add them into the dish with the celery and carrots. The orange, I will rub half the orange zest over the skin of the duck and add the rest of the juice and zest with the wine and stock. I think it will be just heavenly.

I love planning these feasts and I have so many ideas, the table theme will be a winter wonderland and I can not wait to put it all together. I will post photos.

Buon appetito

 

Serves 8
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
4 duck legs, excess skin and fat removed
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
150ml red wine
500ml hot chicken stock
400g tin plum tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 tablespoons dried basil
1 bay leaf

Heat the oil in a large pan and brown the duck legs all over, then set aside. Pour away all but 1 tablespoon of the fat. Gently fry the onion, carrots and celery for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Stir in the red wine, stock, tomatoes and tomato puree, basil and bay leaf. Nestle in the duck legs. Cover and simmer gently for 1 hour.

Remove the duck and, when cool enough to handle, pull off all the meat and roughly shred, discarding the bones and skin. Return the meat to the pan. Simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly.

Serve with tagliatelle, garnished with basil and parmesan.

You can freeze this recipe, make the recipe to the end of step 3, then cool completely. Empty into a freezerproof container and freeze for up to three months. Defrost in the fridge overnight, then reheat on the hob until piping hot.

On the day I will prepare everything up until the part where you simmer for 30 minutes, that way I can spend more time with my guests.