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Spinach Pappardelle with Duck Ragu

January 9, 2015 By Lena

I’m not the most adventurous in the kitchen. Preferring to rely on tried-and-true recipes to, you know, get the hell out of the kitchen, I seldom venture out of my comfort zone. And while, in theory, I love trying new cuisines and foods, I just don’t want to be the one to make them.

Thank goodness for my husband.

Ever-ready to don an apron and whip out a cookbook, he has been instrumental in expanding our entire family’s palette. From chicken chow mein to kalbi (Korean BBQ short ribs) to chicken adobo, he’s cooked it, and we’ve enjoyed it. But the thing that makes him a great home cook is that he’s fearless; as long as he has a recipe, a grocery list and a sous chef who can provide a little counselling from time to time (that’s my role), he’s good to go.

So when he said he wanted to make Mario Batali’s Pappardelle with Duck Ragu, I scoffed. I mean, who makes these things? Duck ragu – seriously? That’s the kind of meal you order at a restaurant, not try to recreate at home.

Except, he showed me the recipe and insisted that aside from the homemade pappardelle, which we opted to swap with a quality store made, the rest of it was actually a cinch. And, with duck meat readily available at most supermarkets, it was actually (to quote him) “no big deal”.
DSC_1566(In fact, we used duck breast instead of two legs, because that’s what we found at our local Loblaws.)

So, my husband made us Spinach Pappardelle with Duck Ragu. Melt-in-the-mouth duck meat, a rich, earthy flavoured sauce, and spindly pappardelle just waiting to be gobbled up. He followed Mario’s sauce recipe to a tee with one exception: instead of adding shredded duck meat back into the sauce, he diced the cooked breast finely to make it kid-friendly and give it a less rustic appearance.

Happy Friday All! Whats for dinner?

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: Mario Batali, recipe, Spinach Pappardelle with Duck Ragu

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tricha F.

    January 9, 2015 at 9:58 am

    Oh my! Can you say lucky (you) and super talented (hubby)? Looks delicious and restaurant quality.

  2. AC

    January 9, 2015 at 12:07 pm

    Way to go Mike! Having had the pleasure of enjoying a few of his other creations I’m sure this would be a gastronomical delight as well. Before this, the only other ducks I knew of were Peking, Daffy, Donald, and Plucky. ;) Then there’s duck 3 ways…whatever that is.

  3. Margaret Imecs

    January 9, 2015 at 12:16 pm

    I love the recipe! I will try to make this!
    I made meatloaf with mashed potatoes for today. Have a great weekend!

  4. Emilia

    January 9, 2015 at 12:40 pm

    I love duck, the drippings and sauces, look so savory and good. I also like the links to the recipe so easy to bookmark for future and follow. That is great he likes to cook. My husband likes to cook too. He is just so good at chopping and sharpening knifes, he is the primary cook in my home too.

  5. jan

    January 9, 2015 at 1:04 pm

    we like to pick a new recipe (suppose to be once a week, but it has slipped to once every 2 or 3 the past couple of months)and prepare it together. great fun. however, I have never tackled duck!

  6. Lee Pearson

    January 9, 2015 at 1:26 pm

    I don’t recall ever having duck in my life. This picture looks really good and I would love to try it. We tend to get a lot of take out (which I hate) because it is faster just to grab something on the way home. My resolution for this year is to cook at home more and I’m doing really well so far. We haven’t had take out yet.lol nine days in! Home cooking is so much more tasty and is actually not too time consuming. Always looking for good recipes. Thanks!

  7. Anne Taylor

    January 9, 2015 at 2:15 pm

    I am blessed to have a husband like yours! He does most of the cooking and has worked as a chef for years and years! My doctor actually told him to stop cooking for me when I was pregnant because I was gaining to much weight haha

    Your hubby’s dish looks delish!

  8. Judy Cowan

    January 9, 2015 at 3:49 pm

    Looks like your hubby is quite the cook! I have to say that I don’t think I would ever get my family to eat that dish…they don’t like going out of their comfort zone when it comes to food!

  9. Lynda Cook

    January 9, 2015 at 6:49 pm

    This looks so good and oh my what a talented hubby you have, I watch The Chew everyday and I find a lot of their recipes to be hard to make and ingredients I wouldn’t have on hand, but after reading your story it sound’s pretty easy, now I just need to find someone to make this for me..lol

  10. Yuen C

    January 9, 2015 at 10:51 pm

    Looks yummy!

  11. heidi c.

    January 10, 2015 at 2:22 am

    Wow, my hubby, as wonderful as he is, has trouble making spaghetti. I would probably pass out if he made a lovely dish like this!

  12. NathaniaH

    January 10, 2015 at 5:15 pm

    This looks, so amazingly yummy. It makes me want Alfredo chicken penne tonight!

  13. Stephanie LaPlante

    January 11, 2015 at 1:00 pm

    I love anything with spinach.

  14. Marissa

    January 12, 2015 at 9:15 am

    Looks delicious! You are blessed to have a husband who enjoys cooking. This sounds like a simple recipe so I think I’ll try it this week.

  15. La Cuisine d'Helene

    January 12, 2015 at 5:33 pm

    This is a great post, I can picture you saying: ”Duck ragoût, seriously”. I am not a duck eater but could probably make this recipe with chicken dark meat. Your husband is a keeper Lena!

  16. Alayne Langford

    January 13, 2015 at 3:07 am

    You are a busy little bee Lena! This is a restaurant worthy “stunning” dish as Gordan Ramsay would say. Congratulation, but I know there was a HUGE clean-up, am I right? :)

  17. Chandra Christine O'Connor

    January 13, 2015 at 7:29 am

    my hubby can microwave potatoes lol.

  18. kathy downey

    January 13, 2015 at 2:30 pm

    I just had Duck for the first time at Christmas dinner and I must say it was very tasty,so I will be giving your recipe a try real soon

  19. Cat burnett

    January 21, 2015 at 12:41 pm

    I think I am going to add this to my arsenal of recipes. Maybe add it in 3 weeks time.

  20. Terri Baker

    January 22, 2015 at 11:21 pm

    OMG, does that every look and sound delicious!!! Can’t wait to try it.

  21. seham merzib

    January 24, 2015 at 1:29 pm

    this looks delicious!

  22. Michelle K

    January 26, 2015 at 10:38 pm

    I ate duck a lot as a child ,so did my husband I’m sure our daughter would love this dish too. thanks

  23. Kristy R

    January 29, 2015 at 9:16 pm

    Mmmm… Sounds yummy! I had no idea Loblaws sells duck meat.

  24. Athena

    January 31, 2015 at 10:59 am

    That looks really good.

  25. kathy downey

    February 23, 2015 at 12:10 pm

    I just love the recipe,it looks amazing and delicious

  26. Cheryl

    February 26, 2015 at 7:25 pm

    Oh yum! Sounds so good

  27. loucheryl

    March 1, 2015 at 7:30 pm

    My husband would LOVE this. He loves duck. I would love this for dinner tonight!

  28. Brenda Lacourciere

    March 5, 2015 at 7:21 am

    Looks amazing. Im not a big fan of duck but I think I will try this one.

  29. Lindsay O

    March 7, 2015 at 6:44 pm

    Fancy. Looks great. I’ve actually never tried duck before.

  30. George M

    March 8, 2015 at 9:23 pm

    Great looking bowl of soup.

  31. Janet M

    March 12, 2015 at 7:36 pm

    I am sure it tastes as good as it looks.

  32. Debbie White Beattie

    July 20, 2018 at 5:59 am

    I think that this looks delicious

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Lena Almeida

Toronto Blogger, Social Media Strategist for Listen to Lena Inc. Television & Radio Personality, Columnist and Speaker. Family Travel Expert. Star Wars Fanatic. Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion. Read More…

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