Duck and Porcini Ragu with Rigatoni

Duck and Porcini Ragu with Rigatoni

Ingredients
4 duck breasts, skin on
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
3 bay leaves
½ cup porcini mushrooms, soaked in boiling water
1½ cup red wine
½ cup port
2 cups chicken stock
1 x 400gr tin chopped tomatoes
4 sprigs thyme
1 pkt San Remo Rigatoni
½ cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

Method
Place a large deep pan on medium to high heat, place the duck breasts into the hot pan, skin side down and cook for 5 minutes. This allows the fat to render out of the duck. Turn over when golden and crisp and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from pan and strain half the fat out.
Add onion, carrot, celery and bay leaves and cook for 3 minutes.
Strain the porcini from the liquid and reserve, add porcini mushrooms to the pan, fry for a further 2 minutes.
Deglaze the pan with the red wine and port. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half and then add chicken stock, tomatoes, thyme and half the reserved porcini liquid.
Place duck breasts back into the pan and cover. Bring up to the boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Continue to cook for 1½ hrs or until duck is very tender.
Remove duck from pan and shred duck meat.
Reduce sauce to a thick ragu consistency; return the shredded duck meat to ragu.
Season well.
Cook the pasta according to direction on the packet, drain pasta and add to sauce.

Finish with chopped parsley and serve.

Warm Up With Pasta, this Winter
Winter is now well and truly upon us.
When it's cold, food becomes all about hearty soups, rich casseroles and nourishing, wholesome pasta dishes.

Leading Adelaide chef and restaurateur, Adam Swanson, says pasta is the perfect winter warmer for families to enjoy at home during the colder months. 'In winter, nothing beats warming up with a delicious pasta dish and glass of red wine in front of an open fire," he said.

'Think large pasta shapes accompanied by rich ragus, hearty sauces and slow braised meats.
'Pasta is easy to cook and comes in a wide variety of flavours and shapes.
'The trick to cooking a great pasta meal is to treat the pasta itself as an integral flavour of the dish.
'The key is to keep it simple. There is a temptation to include every ingredient we can think of in the one dish and that can cause flavour confusion.
Adam Swanson is one of Adelaide's leading chefs and restaurateurs. He is the owner and executive chef of Zucca at Holdfast Shores and a San Remo brand ambassador.