Venetian Duck Ragu

A rich, hearty Venetian duck ragu tossed with paccheri and finished with Parmesan — deeply savory, aromatic with rosemary and cinnamon, perfect for a cozy Italian dinner.

Ingredients

Main

1 tbsp olive oil
4 pcs duck legs
2 pcs onion, finely chopped
2 pcs garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp plain flour
250 ml red wine
800 g chopped tomatoes
1 pcs chicken stock cube
3 pcs rosemary sprigs
2 pcs bay leaves
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp milk
600 g paccheri pasta
grated Parmesan

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large pan and brown the duck legs on all sides about 10 minutes then remove and set aside.
Add the chopped onions to the pan and cook about 5 minutes until softened.
Add the minced garlic and cook 1 minute then stir in the cinnamon and flour and cook 1 minute.
Return the duck to the pan and add the red wine, chopped tomatoes, crumbled chicken stock cube, rosemary, bay leaves, sugar and salt and pepper to taste.
Bring to a simmer, reduce heat, cover and cook 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Carefully lift the duck legs out, discard excess fat, shred the meat with forks and discard the bones.
Add shredded duck back to the sauce with the milk and simmer uncovered 10–15 minutes while you cook the pasta.
Cook the paccheri according to package instructions, reserve about 240 ml (1 cup) pasta water, drain pasta.
Add pasta to the ragu, stir to coat and cook 1 more minute, adding reserved pasta water if sauce is too dry.
Serve topped with grated Parmesan if desired.