DUCK PASTA

Pappardelle with Braised Duck, Fresh Peas, and Spiced Goat Cheese Sauce

for the duck
2 duck legs*
2 teaspoons of kosher salt, or 1 teaspoon of regular or sea salt
2 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed and stems discarded
½ teaspoon of ground allspice
3 cups of duck (or chicken) broth
2 shallots, cut in half (skin can stay on)
½ head of garlic, broken apart into cloves (skin can stay on)

for the pasta
1 pound of fresh peas, shelled and pods discarded
4 ounces of goat cheese
2 tablespoons of cream
1-2 tablespoons of green Tabasco sauce, depending on spice preferences
1 cup of reserved pasta water
1 pound of fresh pappardelle pasta
olive oil, for tossing cooking pasta
grated parmesan, for garnish (optional)
freshly cracked black pepper, for garnish

for the duck
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Rinse duck legs with cold water and pat dry. In a small bowl, toss together the salt, allspice, and thyme leaves. Sprinkle legs with salt mixture, pressing it into the skin and meat so it adheres. Heat a medium dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once dutch oven is hot, add the duck legs directly to it, skin side down—the legs have enough fat on them that you won’t need to add any extra to the dutch oven. Cook until the skin begins to brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove duck legs, set aside, and reduce heat to low to allow dutch oven to cool slightly before proceeding.
Next, add the broth to the dutch oven, enough so that the broth comes just to the skin but does not cover it—you want the skin to crisp in the oven while the meat braises in the liquid. Be careful when you add the broth—if you have not cooled your dutch oven enough, the water will bubble and steam wildly when it comes in contact with the rendered duck fat. (It will eventually settle but you just don’t want to be hovering over it if this happens!) Add shallots and garlic to the liquid. Bring to a boil for just a few seconds, then cover dutch oven with a tight fitting lid and cook in oven for 1.5 hours, or until meat is tender. Braised duck can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days before you’re ready to make the pasta. When ready to prepare the pasta, pick the meat from the bone.


for the pasta
Heat a large pot of salted boiling water over high heat. While that’s heating, mix together the goat cheese and cream with the Tabasco sauce until well blended in a medium sized bowl. I like to use my hands to do this (just be sure not to touch your eyes afterwards!) Once the pasta water is boiling, add the peas and cook for 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Return the water to a boil and add the pasta to it, using chop sticks to agitate the pasta continuously while it cooks. This will prevent the strands from sticking together. Once the pasta is al dente, just under fully cooked, about 2 minutes if you’re using fresh pasta (follow package directions if you’re using dried), scoop out 1 cup of the pasta water and set it aside. Drain the pasta in a colander, toss with olive oil so that it doesn’t stick together while you’re finishing the sauce.
Add goat cheese, Tabasco, cream, and pasta water to the pot you used to cook the pasta in and whisk until well combined into a thick sauce. Add the pasta and cook over medium-high heat to finish cooking the pasta, about 1-2 minutes. Toss with duck meat and peas and serve on plates. Garnish each with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese (if desired) and freshly cracked black pepper.


Notes


You can either purchase a whole duck and butcher the legs off yourself (use the breast in salad!) or you can ask your butcher to do it for you to purchase only the legs. I’ve done this before at Whole Foods.