Saturday, April 16, 2011 / Categories: Cooking with Wine “Cooking with Wines” Series – Sangiovese Visit Us on the Web – Click Here Duck Ragu From the kitchen of Gwyneth Paltrow Servings: 4-6 Cook Time: Over 120 min Ingredients: 1 organic large duck, washed and dried 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Coarse salt Fresh ground black pepper 4 slices duck bacon, finely diced 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and finely diced 2 medium carrots, peeled and finely diced 2 medium stalks celery, finely diced 5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 2 five-inch sprigs fresh rosemary, stems discarded and leaves finely minced 3 fourteen-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes with their juice 1 cup of Water 2 Wine-DTC’s Sangiovese ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 pound pappardelle (fresh or dried) Gremolata bread crumbs or freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Trim off excess skin from the opening to the duck's cavity and from the back end. Rub the entire duck with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper, inside and out. Roast it for a total of two hours, flipping it from its back to its breast (and vice versa) every ½ hour. Let it cool in the pan until you can handle it. Drain off the fat and either discard it or reserve it for another use, such as roasting potatoes. While the duck is roasting, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the duck bacon. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until it start to crisp. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and rosemary, turn the heat down to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, or until softened. Add the tomatoes and their juice and put ½ cup water into one can, swish it around to get all the tomato stuck to the sides, pour into the next can, and repeat again with the third. Add the tomato water to the Dutch oven along with the wine, a good grind of pepper, and a healthy pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down very low and let simmer for one hour and fifteen minutes. After the duck has cooled down a bit, remove and discard the skin and bones and shred the meat. Fold the duck meat into the ragu along with the tomato paste and cook on very low heat, uncovered, for at least 1 hour and up to 4, adding splashes of water if necessary to keep it from drying out ( continue to season with salt and pepper as you splash). To serve, cook the pasta, divide it among bowls, and spoon a generous amount of duck ragu over the pasta. Top with the Gremolata Bread Crumbs or Parmesan. This dish goes great with Water 2 Wine-DTC’s Spanish Rioja, or for the white wine lover, the Washington Riesling! *Recipe from Gwyneth Paltrow's My Father's Daughter; Grand Central Life & Style, 2010. Share this Post on Facebook by Clicking Below: “http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://makingwineindenver.wordpress.com/2011/04/16/personalized-wedding-wine-cooking-with-wines-series-Sangiovese “ Tax Relief Weekend at Water 2 Wine-DTC “Getting to Know Our Wines” Series – Spanish Rioja Tags: Making WineMaking Wine in DenverMaking Your Own WineMonthly WinePersonalize WinePersonalized Wedding WinePreservative Free WineWine Club Month