Duck Ragu and Fresh Pappardelle

Over the last few years I've really developed quite a liking for duck meat. I've had duck in pastas in a few restaurants, but sadly it's not a dish I normally see. Duck is my special occasions meat of choice. I love it when the duck is cooked perfectly, and not all the "top rated" restaurants in SF can do that! One of the the restaurants cooked it so much that it was like slicing and chewing through rubber... awful... esp. for a $70 a person dinner.. yikes. Best cooked duck (with sides) so far was at Prospect in SF. I was inspired to make this dish by something a bit different, SPQR's duck ravioli with sour cherries ( absolutely delicious, but not offered anymore)... I couldn't make it because I just didn't have any sour cherries, and thought that substituting sweet cranberries might be stretching the idea just a bit. I decided to make a simple ragu sauce paired with some homemade pasta (and homemade bread!)

This dish was kind of a mistake. My mom baked a few pieces of duck for me this morning and told me she over baked it so it's a bit dry.. I decided to take the already cooked duck, shred it up, and include it into my sauce hoping that by stewing it with all the liquids.. and it will become delicious and flavorful. It worked! However, this duck kind of tasted like beef in the sauce.. it's not a bad thing, but I kind of wanted the duck to shine a bit more in the sauce.

My goal for the past few months has been to develop my cooking skills. I'm trying to just roughly go off of a recipe and try to improvise what I forget. I think I've learned a lot by carefully following recipes, but it's time for me to branch out and use my own creativity. There has been some hits and some misses.. so I'm definitely learning something... this ragu was similar to my osso bucco.. so I kind of knew what to expect. The pasta was made without any measurements (partly because I couldn't find measuring cups...) and it turned out better than the ones where I meticulously measure! Food is forgiving. Baking is a science, I try not to eyeball too much with that.. but cooking is definitely much more flexible!

no pasta machine .. no problem!! 

Ingredients list:

Inspiration Recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/pappardelle-with-duck-ragu-recipe/index.html

- minced garlic

- chopped yellow onions

- chopped carrots

- chopped celery

- duck meat ( fresh or cooked) , shredded 

- red wine 

- chicken broth

- sage 

- salt and pepper 

-white sugar

- splash of balsamic vinegar 

- san marzano tomatoes (I used whole... and san marzano-style tomatos.. the real ones are hard to find in my area :/ )

- optional - cream or half and half ( too heavy of a tomato base gives me heartburn :( )  

Pasta: (rough estimates for 1 serving)  

- AP flour (1/2 cup)

- Egg (1)

- Semolina (2 tsp) (optional: I like the added texture)

- Olive oil (2 tsp) 

( mix in large bowl of your mixer with fingers to get it incorporated, use dough hook and knead for 5 mins on low, if it doesn't seem to incorp, help it out by added a bit more flour or oil.. dough should be smoooooth and soft. cover in plastic wrap,  LET REST FOR AT LEAST 30 MINUTES! roll out into a large sheet hang to dry for 10 mins, cut into strips, and place into salted boiling water for 3-4 mins), drain and lightly coat with olive oil, either serve the sauce on top or mix the sauce with the pasta ( I preferred the latter, but couldn't get a clear picture of it!)