Quite a bit of cooking went on over the Christmas and the New Year period and there was no time to write about it. Most of the time I do not even manage to take photos, however for this dish, I did.
This is a slow cooked goat with mushrooms. The Sicilian bit in this dish is that the goat pieces were marinated in Marsala Fine (semi dry) and cooked with Marsala too. Most recipes eventuating from the rest of Italy would use wine – red and perhaps white.
I used the goat ragout to dress egg pappardelle.
I hope the photos tell the story.
I bought a leg and a shoulder of capretto… the italian word for kid and the etto at the end of the word makes it diminutive…however, judging by the size of it, it was a capra…a goat.
There were seven of us for lunch and I also bought a kilo of mushrooms.
Below is the photo of the marinade:
Marsala Fine, extra virgin olive oil, herbs – bay, cloves, rosemary –
these herbs are used in sicilian cooking but I also used nepitella and sage – herbs that are more common in the north and central Italy.
I cut most of the meat off the bone but kept the bones in with the meat to marinade overnight.
Drain the meat and bones and sauté the meat in some extra virgin olive oil in small batches.
Place the sautéed meat aside and finish sautéeing all the meat and the bones.
Prepare the sofritto – white onion, carrot and celery, chopped pretty small.
Use the same pan.
Sauté the onion first in some extra virgin oil, then add the carrots and celery and sauté some more.
Add the meat and bones.
Add the marinade, the herbs (and some new ones too).
Add salt and pepper and some good meat stock and more Marsala.
Cover and cook on slow heat. Check level of moisture regularly and if needed add more stock. I cooked mine for just below four hours. Remove the bones….they should be clean.
Add sliced mushrooms, cover and cook for 20 – 30 minutes more.
Dress the cooked pasta with the ragout.
Present the pappardelle with grated pecorino and fresh mint leaves.
It is one of my friend’s birthday today and I am wishing him well, there in the cloud. I have cooked him some of his favourite food.
I hope that he will enjoy the homemade pappardelle dressed with a duck ragù.
I
I was not able to buy him boar (cinghiale) or hare (lepre) as you can in Greve from that butcher who has a stuffed boar in front of his Macelleria. ButI know that he is quite fond of duck; he will be just as pleased.
I have kept some of the dough from the pasta to fry and make into crostoli. I will sprinkle them with caster sugar. We can crunch on these later.
Now he’s no longer unwell, he can once again enjoy the Barolo and the Amarone I have selected for this occasion. I know that he is fond of Sicily and I have a bottle of Nero d’Avola. Perhaps we could have a little of this with our cheese? We will try to drink in moderation. I can return the wines from the decanters to bottles and put stoppers in them…I will be happy to drink them tomorrow.
I was able to find some early spring produce andI have stuffed some zucchini flowers with somestracchino, rather than the ricotta I usually use, a little egg with a few fresh breadcrumbs to bind the stuffing, and some fresh marjoram ... not chervil, I am afraid, as it is not in season, this being his favourite herb. He particularly liked it on scrambled eggs.
I almost forgot! I was able to order a great bottle of Riesling from the Barossa. Peter Lehman’s son – David Franz – Makes it. I love his wine and I am very fond of David’s colourful labels. I think my friend shared a bottle of this wine when I last saw him. This will be a perfect accompaniment for the zucchini flowers.
I have a bottle of Cynar for when he arrives and a little Averna for those who wish, right at the very end.
There will be no second course, the pasta will be enough. The ragù smells fabulous and will be quite rich.Perhaps a little Mâche,or matovilc as we called it in Trieste…. lamb’s lettuce for others. I can add some thinly sliced fennel too – this could be the palate cleanser before the dessert.
My friend does like a good Zuppa Inglese.I think that it’s the savoiardi soaked with Alchermes that he likes, although the delicate egg custard is also a winner. He will understand that I was unable to get the gooseberries or the greengage plumsthat he is so fond of.They are out of season.My friend was able to buy these for a very limited time of they year fromone stall in the Adelaide Market. Gosh, that was a few years ago! The stall holder was a gentle and kind Sicilian man who used to grow most of his produce. I will never forget when the stall holder found out who my father was, he almost hugged me. My dad was liked by so many people… my friend was popular too, and liked a chat or two.
Idid find some Josephine pears at theQueen Victoria Market today,so I have purchased some to present with some cheeses– I selected ripe, juicy pears, just as he likes them. He always expressed his dissatisfaction about fruit that was picked too green.
I have not forgotten the cheese to go with the pears. He is fond of a little cheese. Walnuts too. He likes to crack his own. I know he quite likes a little aged Parmesan with pears and I was also able to buy a good selection of Italian and French Cheeses, some are quite smelly and I had to put them out on my balcony overnight.
Bob has baked some bread, my friend prefers to eat cheese with bread. I do too, perhaps I learnt this from him.
So my friend, up in the cloud, I hope you enjoy what I have prepared for you. Happy Birthday from all of us, here below.We all remember you fondly and miss you.
Duck ragù with mushrooms is a classic pasta sauce found in many parts of Italy. It is not a fashionable dish or a recent invention, but one that continues to endure because of its depth of flavour and its suitability for slow cooking.
Why Pappardelle Works So Well with Duck
Whenever I prepare a ragù with duck or game, I usually choose pappardelle. The wide ribbons of pasta are ideal for catching the rich sauce and substantial pieces of meat. In Tuscany, pappardelle is often served with wild boar, hare or duck ragù, and it remains one of my favourite combinations.
Preparing the Duck Over Two Days
On this occasion I purchased a whole duck and prepared the ragù over two days.
This is not essential, but it has advantages. After the duck is slowly braised and left overnight, the cooking liquid sets into a rich jelly and the fat rises to the surface, making it easy to remove. The resulting sauce is lighter and more refined, while still retaining all of the flavour.
The duck was first browned to render some of its fat.
Browning the duck pieces to render the fat and build flavour.
I then prepared a simple soffritto of onion, carrot and celery in the same pan, allowing the vegetables to absorb some of the flavour left behind by the duck. Red wine, chicken stock, rosemary, bay leaves and a small amount of tomato completed the braising liquid.
A traditional soffritto forms the base of the ragù.
The duck cooked slowly until the meat could be easily removed from the bones. Once cooled, I stripped the meat into generous pieces and set it aside. The braising liquid was strained and reserved separately.
Rather than discarding all of the rendered duck fat, I kept a small amount to cook the mushrooms. Brown mushrooms were sautéed with garlic, thyme and parsley until fragrant and lightly coloured. The reserved braising liquid was then added gradually and reduced until concentrated and glossy.
Finally, the duck meat was returned to the pan together with the mushrooms and a small grating of nutmeg. The result was a rich ragù with layers of flavour from the wine, herbs and slow-cooked duck, balanced by the earthiness of the mushrooms.
Tossed through freshly cooked pappardelle and served immediately, it made a satisfying meal that reflects the best qualities of traditional Italian cooking: patience, good ingredients and the willingness to let time do much of the work.
Ingredients
1 whole duck, cut into pieces
1 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
Fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
½ cup diced tomatoes or 2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups dry red wine
3 cups chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
250 g brown mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Fresh thyme and parsley
Freshly grated nutmeg
Pappardelle, to serve
Pappardelle.
Method
I bought a whole duck, dismembered it and trimmed away the obvious fat.
The duck pieces are prepared by removing some of the fat.
Pat the duck pieces dry. Brown them skin-side down in a heavy casserole until the fat renders and the skin colours well. Turn and brown the other side.
Browning the duck pieces to render the fat and build flavour.
Remove most of the fat and set the duck aside.
In the same pan, cook the onion, carrot and celery until softened.
Return the duck to the pan and add the wine, stock, tomatoes, rosemary, bay leaves, salt and pepper.
Cover and simmer gently for 1¾–2¼ hours, or until the meat is tender.
The finished duck and mushroom ragù is ready to cool and leave overnight.
Cool and refrigerate overnight if possible.
Remove the layer of fat that forms on the surface.
Lift out the duck, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat into chunks.
The stripped flesh from the duck pieces.
Strain the cooking liquid and reserve.
The drained flavourful liquid.
Sauté the mushrooms in a little duck fat with the garlic, thyme and parsley.
Mushrooms sautéed in duck fat with garlic and herbs.
The finished duck and mushroom ragù.
Add the braising liquid gradually, reducing it until concentrated.
Return the duck meat to the pan, add a little freshly grated nutmeg and adjust the seasoning.
The finished duck and mushroom ragù.
Toss through cooked pappardelle and serve.
A generous sprinkling of Parmigiano Reggiano is optional, although many Italians prefer to enjoy duck ragù without cheese.
