Venetian Duck Ragu

The blend of rich, soft duck meat with cinnamon, bay and red wine makes for the most divine ragu sauce in this recipe, which, when added to pasta, feels extra indulgent. I always thought a meal like this would be off the cards when trying to eat healthily, but if this recipe proves anything, it’s that with an element of portion control, you really can eat whatever you fancy!

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POINTS AND NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Serves 4 – per serving = 14 points or 568 cals, 22.1g fat, 55.2g carbs, 27.7g protein

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil

2 x duck legs (450g, gives you around 250g of meat)

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, peeled and finely diced

1 stick of celery, finely diced

2 x garlic cloves, finely chopped

250g chestnut mushrooms, quartered

1 tsp each ground cinnamon and plain flour

125ml red wine

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 chicken stock cube made up with 150ml boiling wter

Dash of Tabasco

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, picked and finely chopped

2 bay leaves

1 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp single cream

240g dried pasta of your choice

30g fresh Parmesan, grated

Salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan, then add the duck legs and brown on both sides for around 10 minutes. Once brown, remove the duck from the pan, pop onto a plate and put to one side.
  2. To the same pan, add the onion, carrot and celery and fry for 5 minutes until softened. Add a little water if they start to stick to the pan, then add the garlic and the mushrooms and cook for a further 2 minutes.
  3. Next, stir in the cinnamon and flour and cook for another minute, then pop the duck back into the pan and add the wine, tomatoes, stock, Tabasco, herbs, chilli flakes and sugar.
  4. Season with salt and pepper and bring everything to a simmer. Lower the heat, cover with a lid or tin foil and cook in the pan on low for 2 hours, stirring every now and then.5
  5. After 2 hours, remove the duck legs from the sauce. Shred the meat with two forks and bin the bones. Add the meat back to the sauce with the single cream, season, and simmer, uncovered, for a further 10–15 minutes while you cook the pasta.
  6. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add to the sauce. Add a little of the pasta water to the sauce too, so the sauce goes nice and glossy and sticks to the pasta.
  7. Stir well and continue to cook the pasta in the sauce for a minute. Serve in four nice big bowls, topped with a little fresh Parmesan.

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15 thoughts on “Venetian Duck Ragu”

  • Tried this dish last night(but with a duck crown), it was amazing. I cook a lot but have never used those combination of flavours. Will be making this again soon. Thank you!

    • It’s a lovely one isn’t it! So pleased you enjoyed it x

    • The 240g of pasta is it cooked or dry? Also are the points for the meat, sauce and pasta? I love duck as i am french and will definitely try that recipe.. X
      Thanks
      Sarah

      • Sarah, the 240g is for dried pasta and the points are for the whole meal (so meat, sauce and pasta). Hope you like it! x

  • Can you make this with duck breasts? X

    • I can’t see why not Laura, just put the recipe back through the recipe builder to see if it adjusts the points x

  • One of my favourites lost count of how many times I have made this, my son who is not dieting really enjoys it, thanks

  • Judith Ray says:

    Hi Laura
    I am Margaret Craddock’s sister in law Judith and I joined WW last week and have lost 41/2 pounds. I am following some of your recipes and would like to try this one. I have a whole duck to cook and wondered if I could use cooked duck and reduce cooking time. What do you suggest? X

    • Hey Judith! Good work on losing 4 1/2 pounds so far. You could do yes, I would double check the points through the recipe builder but there shouldn’t be any harm. I would just let the sauce simmer for an hour, then add the cooked shredded duck and simmer for another half an hour. Should be just as good 🙂

  • This recipe is amazing! Both my partner and I absolutely loved it. Will definitely be making this again. Thank you!

  • So tasty, left in slower cooker all day so just had to cook pasta and add cream when I got home from work. Love ❤️ your recipes

  • Elaine Palmer says:

    Oh my Days, this was simply divine!! Will be a firm favourite from now on. Thanks Laura xx

  • Roxanne Allgood says:

    Hi! This looks amazing, if you were to cook it in the slow cooker, how long would you recommend?

    • Paula Dillin says:

      I always cook it in the slow cooker. Low for 6 to 8 hours or high on 4 hours.

  • Had this for tea tonight really tasty, will definitely make again. Very filling , thank you Laura .

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