Pappardelle sulla NanaPappardelle with Tuscan Duck Ragù

Portion and score the duck and let the seasoning penetrate

• 1 Meanwhile(While the meat absorbs the seasoning) finely dice 100g onion, 80g carrot and 60g celery to 2–3mm and keep in separate bowls.
• 2 Meanwhile(At the same time) peel 1 garlic clove and crush with the flat of a knife; tie 1 rosemary sprig, 4 sage leaves and 1 bay leaf into a bundle with kitchen string.
• 3 Cut 700g bone-in duck legs at the joints into pieces that fit the pot.
• 4 Trim excess skin hanging from the edges and lumps of fat beneath it, shaping the pieces to fit the pot.
• 5 Score the skin in a crosshatch pattern 1.5cm apart and 2–3mm deep without reaching the flesh.
• 6 Season all surfaces evenly with 3g fine salt and coarsely grind over 1g of the 2g black peppercorns.
• 7 Arrange skin-side up on a tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Knead a rich yolk-heavy sfoglia and let it rest

• 1 Mound 150g type 00 flour and 50g finely milled durum semolina on the worktop and make a wide well in the centre with your fingers.
• 2 Break 2 room-temperature whole eggs and 1 yolk into the well and add 2g fine salt.
• 3 Beat the eggs with a fork, gradually drawing flour from the inner wall into them until crumbly.
• 4 Use a scraper to gather the flour and bring it together by hand; knead for 10–15 minutes, repeatedly pushing with the heel of the hand and folding back.
• 5 Round into a ball, wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Brown the duck skin and render excess fat

• 1 Heat 20ml extra virgin olive oil over medium heat in a heavy pot about 24cm in diameter.
• 2 Lay in the duck skin-side down and cook without moving over medium heat for 8–10 minutes until deep golden brown.
• 3 Turn with tongs, brown the flesh side over medium heat for 4–5 minutes and transfer to a tray.
• 4 Pour the rendered fat into a heatproof container, leaving just 2 tablespoons, about 30ml, in the pot.

Cook the soffritto, deglaze with Chianti and return the duck

• 1 Meanwhile(While the aromatic vegetables cook) warm 500ml meat broth, a stock made from meat and aromatic vegetables, and use 300ml at this stage.
• 2 Add 20ml extra virgin olive oil to the duck pot, then the finely diced 100g onion, 80g carrot and 60g celery.
• 3 Cook over medium-low heat for 12–15 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until softened and sweet-smelling: this is soffritto, aromatic vegetables slowly cooked in oil as a base for braising.
• 4 Add 1 crushed garlic clove and 15g tomato paste; cook together over medium-low heat for 2 minutes, stopping just before the paste darkens too much.
• 5 Pour in 180ml red wine (Chianti) and scrape the browned deposits from the base with a wooden spoon to deglaze, dissolving the flavour into the liquid.
• 6 Boil over medium heat for 5–6 minutes to remove the alcohol smell and reduce by half.
• 7 Add and mix in 250g passata, the herb bundle, 4 lightly crushed juniper berries and the remaining 1g peppercorns, coarsely ground.
• 8 Return the duck skin-side up with any juices on the tray.
• 9 Pour in 300ml warm broth to reach 2/3 of the way up the meat.
• 10 Once boiling, reduce to very low heat and cover with the lid slightly ajar.

Braise the duck until the meat comes off the bone

• 1 Meanwhile(Starting 30 minutes before braising ends) roll and cut the dough in the next step.
• 2 Keep the lid slightly ajar and braise over very low heat for 90–120 minutes, with only occasional bubbles breaking the surface.
• 3 Every 20 minutes, stir the base with a wooden spoon; whenever the liquid falls below halfway up the meat, add warm broth in 50ml portions, up to 500ml total.
• 4 At each 20-minute check, skim foam and excess fat from the surface with a spoon.

Roll the sfoglia thinly by hand and cut pappardelle 2cm wide

• 1 Dust the worktop with a little of the 20g semolina reserved for dusting; take the dough from the refrigerator and flatten into a disc with your palm.
• 2 Roll from the centre outwards, turning the dough 90 degrees at a time, into a circle about 1mm thick.
• 3 Wrap the dough around the rolling pin and pull towards you to stretch it several times until evenly thick.
• 4 Dust both sides lightly with semolina and fold 3 times from the near edge into a strip about 10cm wide.
• 5 Cut into 2cm-wide strips, separate each one, dust lightly with semolina and form loose nests on a cloth-lined tray. Stay within the reserved 20g dusting allowance and brush away excess.

Shred the duck and finish the ragù with liver

• 1 Meanwhile(While shredding the duck) bring 2L water to the boil over high heat in a large pot.
• 2 Transfer the duck to a tray with tongs and cool for about 10 minutes until comfortable to handle.
• 3 Briefly rinse blood clots from the duck liver under running water and pat dry with paper.
• 4 Remove vessels and gallbladder remnants from 50g duck liver and finely chop into 2–3mm pieces.
• 5 Remove the cooled duck skin, pull all the meat from the bones by hand and shred coarsely along the fibres. Cut the skin into 5mm strips.
• 6 Return the bones and joints to the pot and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes, then remove and discard them along with the herb bundle.
• 7 Return the shredded meat and skin, add the liver and simmer over low heat for 5–7 minutes. Confirm that the liver reaches at least 75°C at the centre for at least 1 minute.
• 8 Add 3g fine salt and 0.2g freshly grated nutmeg and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes to combine the flavours.

Cook the pappardelle and combine with the ragù by mantecatura

• 1 When the 2L water boils, dissolve 20g coarse salt in it.
• 2 Transfer all the finished ragù to a large frying pan and warm over low heat.
• 3 Shake excess flour from the pappardelle into the boiling water, separate with cooking chopsticks and cook for 2–3 minutes. Remove when just a slight resistance remains at the centre.
• 4 Just before the pasta is ready, reserve 120ml cooking water in a measuring jug.
• 5 Transfer the pappardelle directly from the water to the ragù with tongs; add 60ml cooking water and toss over medium heat for 30 seconds.
• 6 Turn off the heat, add 15g cold diced butter and 20g Parmigiano Reggiano, then shake the pan and mix broadly with tongs for mantecatura: emulsifying butter and cheese with pasta water to coat the noodles.
• 7 If the sauce is heavy, add the remaining cooking water in 20ml increments until the noodles flow smoothly.
• 8 Twirl the noodles with tongs into tall mounds on 4 warmed plates and scatter with 3g coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley.
• 9 Serve the remaining 20g Parmigiano Reggiano in a small dish alongside.