I thought I’d share this recipe because of its success with my kids last night – both left the table resembling teletubbies in gait and appearance, and while we do not aim for this outcome daily, it was the perfect reward for my evening effort.
Why duck stock? In Laurie Colwin’s “More Home Cooking” I read, “Stuff the duck with an orange, cut in half, and a few big, smashed garlic cloves. Then, with a very sharp little fork, pierce the skin all over; this lets the fat out during roasting. Season the duck with paprika and black pepper, pop it on a rack, and slide it into a hot oven — 400°F is about right” … and I couldn’t help it, the next minute I was ringing the butcher, happy to score the last duck in the store, and driving over to pick it up. The next night I followed Laurie’s recipe and it gave us, along with duck for five adults and two toddlers, a jar of paprika-dusted duck fat and (with the addition of carrot, onion, celery and water) a pot of duck stock.
I am sure the pasta bake would have worked very well with chicken/beef stock too, but it was fragrant and full-bodied with the duck stock and I like to think that Laurie Colwin would have approved.
Bolognese:
2 tbsp olive oil
500g beef mince
1 onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
Splash of wine (optional – can use water)
1C duck stock (can probably use chicken stock or beef stock too)
Handful cherry tomatoes
Approx. 5 tbsp passata/tomato puree
Sea salt/black pepper to taste
Béchamel:
Equal amounts butter & flour (I used roughly 2.5 heaped tbsp each)
Milk
Also:
250g pasta spirals
Grated mozzarella
In a large saucepan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat, and brown the beef mince (no need to cook thoroughly). Remove from the pan.
In the same pan, saute onion, celery and carrot. Once softened add in the garlic and bay leaf. Cook for a minute or two. Add in the splash of wine and allow to evaporate.
Return the mince to the pan and add in the duck stock, cherry tomatoes and passata/tomato puree (as much as required to form the right consistency for a smooth tomato sauce that isn’t too watery). Once it’s boiling lower the heat and simmer for 45-60 minutes. Stir every so often, adjusting the heat and adding in liquid (I added water from the pasta pot at a later stage, 1 tbsp at a time) as required.
Around 20 minutes before the beef is due to be done, preheat the oven to 200℃. Bring a large pot of water to the boil, salt generously, and cook pasta according to packet instructions. When done, drain thoroughly. (Reserve 1C pasta water for the bolognese as required).
While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low-medium heat; as it’s melting, add in the flour and whisk well to form a roux. Slowly pour in milk and keep whisking until it takes on the consistency of a thick and smooth sauce. Remove from the heat once it’s done.
Combine bolognese, cooked pasta and béchamel. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir well. Layer a baking dish with half of the pasta mix, sprinkle grated mozzarella generously over the lot, then layer the remaining pasta on top and add another layer of grated mozzarella.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is nicely golden.