French Ovens and Duck Ragout

The whole point of this blog is to share with you my favourite recipes and cooking untensils. last week, I wrote about my beloved kitchen aid. this week, I would like to feature my other beloved utensil, my Le Creuset. Now it is coming into the cooler months, it is perfect for cooking our favourite warming comfort foods. Here is a great recipe to cook in I served it at a dinner party recently and it was a bit of a hit! I actually got the recipe from My Kitchen Rules however, I have varied it slightly to suit my tastes.

Duck Ragout (serves 6)

Ingredients
6 duck marylands
1.5 cups dry red wine (shiraz, merlot, cab sav etc)
3 medium carrots, chopped
3 sticks of celery, chopped
1 large brown onion, sliced
5 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
4 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1.5 litre chicken stock

Method
1. In a large bowl, place duck, wine, vegetables, herbs and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and leave to marinade for at least 1 hour.
2. Drain duck and vegetables. Set marinade aside.
3. In large heavy based casserole dish (a French oven is ideal), cook duck (best to do it in batches) until brown and sealed all over. Remove duck.
4. Add vegetables and cook until lightly browned. Return duck together with tomato paste, stock, and the red wine marinade. Bring to the boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for approximately 2.5 hours until the duck is tender.
5. Remove the duck, thyme stalks and the bay leaves. Simmer sauce, uncovered until reduce down to desired thickness.
6. Remove flesh from the duck and return to pan.

Cooking notes:
1. Serve with Papperdelle pasta and garnish with shaved parmesan and parsley.
2. I sourced the duck marylands from the Jan Power’s Farmers Markets. You could also ask your butcher.
3. Duck is very fatty which can be a bit overwhelming for some people. After browning the duck (step 3 of method), you could remove the skin before cooking it for 2/3 hours. Also, because the duck is so fatty, you don’t need oil when browning the duck.
4. You could substitute the duck for lamb shanks.