Duck Ragù with Paparadella

Peel and finely chop the shallots. Put a couple of tablespoonfuls of olive oil into a thick bottomed cooking pan for which you have a lid, add the shallots and put over a medium heat. Stir from time to time to prevent browning.

Trim and finely slice the celery and add to the onions, peel and chop the garlic and add to the onion mixture. Scrape the carrots, quarter lenthways and chop into small dice. Put into a blender for a few minutes and add to the onion mixture.

Cook the onion mixture until very soft but not brown. Cut the proscuitto into lardons and stir into the mixture followed by the tomato puree and two good sized glasses of red wine. Simmer for a few minutes.

Meanwhile cut the ducks into legs, thighs, breasts and wings. Discard the last two joints of the wings and the carcass. remove all the skin and cut out as much fat as possible  Picture  .

Quickly lightly brown the duck in a separate pan and add to the onion mixture. Put over a low heat, cover the pan and cook for about an hour.

After the hour, remove the pan from the heat and uncover  Picture  . Take out each piece of duck in turn, remove any bones if necessary, roughly cut into small pieces with a heavy knife and put back in the pan. Add a little hot water if the sauce is too dry.

Strip the rosemary of the stalks, chop, and add to the pan. Cover the pan and cook for a further 45 minutes stirring occasionally. Then season with salt and pepper and simmer uncovered for a further 15 minutes or so until the ragù is a good consistency. Re-season if necessary  Picture  . At this point the sauce can be put to one side even over night if desired.

Reheat the ragù. Cook the paparadella according to the instructions on the packet (probably eight minutes or so), drain and stir in a good tablespoonful of olive oil to stop it sticking together. Serve with good fresh parmesan cheese to grate over.