About a month ago, I stumbled upon a BuzzFeed video featuring one of my favorite eateries in San Francisco, Barzotto. As soon as I watched it, I craved a bowl of the bistro’s spaghetti and meatballs. So I mentioned the find to a friend and, shortly afterwards, we headed to the City to taste the dish for ourselves.
The famed extra long noodles (and rigatoni) hit the spot. But apparently, I didn’t get my fill seeing that I made this pasta with duck ragù the next day.
The primo piatto may look modest, but it’s packed with flavor and spice. The recipe involves seasoning the meat with fresh herbs, dried juniper berries (an ingredient I had never used before) and citrus zest. What’s more, a splash of red wine and cognac go into the sauce for added richness and depth.
Hankering for a hearty meal? Whip up a big plate of pasta with duck ragù – and double the quantity if you’re feeding a crew!
Recipe adapted from James Beard Foundation.
- ½ pound boneless, skinless duck breasts
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon dried juniper berries
- finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- finely grated zest of 1 orange
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup red wine
- ¼ cup cognac
- 1 14.5 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 8 ounces lumache or other short pasta
- chopped fresh parsley (optional, for garnish)
- In a medium bowl, combine the duck, rosemary, bay leaf, juniper berries, lemon zest and orange zest. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight, flipping duck occasionally.
- Remove duck from bowl and discard rosemary, bay leaf, juniper berries, lemon zest and orange zest. Cut duck into ½" pieces and season with salt and pepper.
- In a medium sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add prepared duck and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, 5-7 minutes.
- Add wine and cognac and simmer until evaporated, about 5 minutes.
- Add tomatoes and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. (At this point, you can proceed with the recipe or remove about half of the duck from the pan. When the meat is cool enough to handle, chop roughly and return to pan.) Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook lumache until al dente according to package directions. Drain and add to ragù; stir to combine.
- Garnish with parsley, if desired, and serve immediately.
