Stracci with red wine braised duck
Instructions:
- braised duck legs
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 6 duck legs
- 1 bay leaf
- About 1 cup kosher salt
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 3 cups quartered button mushrooms
- 1½ cups veal stock or chicken stock
- 1½ cups diced carrots
- 1 cup diced celery
- ¾ cup diced onions
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2½ cups red wine
- stracci
- 1½ pounds fresh stracci
- assembly
- ½ cup unsalted butter 2 cups Stewed Tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shaved
- To prepare the braised duck legs, lay the legs on a flat pan and cover with salt. Set another flat pan on top of the duck and weight with some cans or a brick. Refrigerate for about 3 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Allow an ovenproof stockpot to warm over medium heat while you rinse the salt off the duck legs. Put the legs in the pot, skin side down, and cook over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, or until all the fat is rendered.
- Lift the legs from the pot and set aside. Add the mushrooms, carrots, celery, and onions. Cook over medium heat for about 4 min utes, or until slightly caramelized and just beginning to soften. Using a slotted spoon, lift the vegetables from the pot and leave behind the fat.
- Add the tomato paste to the fat and “fry†it for about 5 minutes, beating it with a whisk. Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until reduced by half.
- Return the vegetables and duck legs to the pot. Add the thyme and bay leaf and then the stocks. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and transfer it to the oven. Cook for about 2 hours, until the duck is fully cooked and tender.
- Remove the duck legs and set aside to cool. Skim the fat from the sauce.
- When the duck legs are cool enough to handle, pull the skin off. Reserve the skin. Pick the meat from the bones. Add the meat to the sauce and discard the bones. Discard the duck fat skimmed from the sauce or save for a later use.
- Lay the reserved duck skin on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, or until crispy. Chop the cracklings roughly and set aside.
- Push the vegetables left in the stockpot through a fine-mesh sieve or chinois, pressing on the vegetables as you do so. Return the sieved vegetables to the pot with the duck and the sauce. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a rapid simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the sauce thickens and reduces by half.
- Meanwhile, cook the stracci according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain the pasta and add it to the duck sauce.
- Stir the butter into the sauce until it is incorporated. Stir the tomatoes and vinegar into the pasta and sauce. Toss with the basil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide the pasta evenly among 4 serving plates. Garnish with the shaved cheese and the reserved duck cracklings.