Aldo Zilli's Duck Ragu

So first up is Aldo Zilli’s ‘The Zilli Cookbook’ (2003). The cover features Aldo tucking into a lovely bowl of  that queen of dishes, Pasta Alla Vongole- which is a bit odd given that there is no recipe for this in the book. That is quite odd isn’t it? Did he think ‘well, it’s such a classic, I won't waste a page giving a recipe that’s in countless other books’. Probably not, because he did put in recipes for Spaghetti with Chili, Garlic and Oil (on which he inexplicably puts BASIL, what the what??) and Lasagne. I find this outrageous, though not surprising. Gordon Ramsey and Angela Hartnett have both published books and/or articles where they give recipes for Pasta with Tomato Sauce. Spread across two pages, with a photo. Definitely not value for money.

My grandmother is from Naples, and there are a lot of recipes we eat as a family that I’ve never seen in a cookbook – and I don’t think she made them up. So there isn’t an excuse for chefs/writers to fall back on the same old recipes. Lasagne might be a classic, but unless your book is badged for ‘people who only want to use one recipe book ever’ or ‘people who don’t have Google’, it’s a cop out.

I really wasn’t looking to slate Zilli – despite the fact that I don’t understand why anyone would feel the need to own this book (…Dad). Is ‘Aldo Zilli’ really a chef, or just a collection of Italian sounds used to add culinary legitimacy to Morrison’s, Alfa Romeo, Centre Parcs, and Prezzo (as listed on his website)?  All his restaurants seem to have closed, he produces a range of baby food, he gets to go on Saturday Kitchen sometimes, gives ‘masterclasses’ to the public, and appears at OK! Magazine parties. 

I chose to make duck ragu – on the grounds that ragu is always lovely, but I’ve never seen it with duck. Aldo recommend you use two breasts, skinned and cubed. Availability and price lured me into buying a crown and taking it off the bone before cooking. Honestly, these are both stupid ideas. I should have bought two legs, cooked them whole, and pulled the meat off the bone afterwards. It would have been about a hundred times tastier. Aldo even says, in a sidebar, that the dish is inspired by a restaurant in Abruzzo, which cooks a whole duck in the sauce, then serves the meat separately. Well duh! I would also start if off with a soffrito, rather than just the onion Aldo uses. It wasn’t horrible, especially with a lot of Parmesan, but the meat was a bit dry, and flavourless. So this is how I would do it:

Duck Ragu (for four – ish)

Olive Oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, ditto
1 stick of celery, ditto
2 cloves of garlic, ditto
2 duck legs, skin off
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
Teaspoon of tomato puree
Splosh of red wine (optional)

Brown the duck legs over a high heat in something which isn’t Extra Virgin Olive Oil (just for the burning issue). Remove from pan.

Gently fry the veg in Extra Virgin Olive Oil until soft and tranluscent. Put the duck legs back in, and heat it all up, before adding the tomatoes, puree, and wine. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer, with a lid, for about an hour.

Check to see if the meat is falling off the bone. If not, give it a bit longer. When it’s ready, pull all the meat off, and shred it as finely as possible. Obviously, this is easiest if you’re making in advance, and have let the sauce cool. But no biggie, and it doesn’t matter if the chunks of meat are still quite chunky.

Or! Leave the duck legs whole and serve them with veg or salad as a second course, after serving the sauce with pasta and lots of Parmesan. I really think this would be very nice indeed, and I might do it soon.