GNOCCHI WITH DUCK RAGÙ AND PORCINI MUSHROOMS

• 01 For duck ragù, preheat oven to 150C. Heat a casserole over medium heat, then add duck skin-side down and fry until browned and fat renders (5-6 minutes). Turn and fry until browned (2-3 minutes), then set aside. Add carrot, onion, garlic and herbs to pan, and sauté until vegetables are tender (5-8 minutes). Meanwhile, gently lift porcini from liquid (reserve liquid) with a slotted spoon; leaving any grit settled at the bottom. Coarsely chop mushrooms, add to vegetables and sauté until softened (3-4 minutes). Add tomato paste and cook until colour deepens (2-3 minutes). Deglaze pan with wine and stir until thickened (4-5 minutes). Add stock and three-quarters of the strained mushroom liquid, and bring to the boil. Season to taste, add duck, cover with a lid or foil and braise in the oven until meat falls from the bone (1¾-2¼ hours). Uncover, rest for 15 minutes, then remove duck legs and, when cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones in chunks and stir into sauce. Discard herbs.

• 02 For gnocchi, bring potatoes to a simmer in a large saucepan of cold salted water and cook until tender (40-50 minutes). Drain then, when cool enough to handle, peel, pass through a drum sieve or potato ricer and refrigerate, covered with a tea towel, until cold (2-3 hours). Combine 660gm potato with remaining ingredients and ¼ tsp salt in a bowl and mix lightly until smooth. (Take care not to overwork dough or the gnocchi will become dense.) Divide dough into 4 pieces and roll each on a lightly floured surface to 1cm-diameter ropes, then cut into 1.5cm pieces.

• 03 Cook gnocchi in batches in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until they rise to the surface (1-2 minutes), then drain (if you are not using gnocchi right away, refresh them in iced water, drain, lightly coat in oil and refrigerate in an airtight container up to a day). Add gnocchi to ragù with parmesan and parsley, toss to coat, then serve scattered with pecorino pepato.

(Gourmet Traveller, 2016)