Lasagne with Duck Ragu'

A delicious combination of exquisite, braised duck ragu', and delicate and rich besciamella sauce.

Make your dinner special with this delicious lasagne with duck ragu'. This is the perfect recipe, whether you want to wow your guests at a fancy dinner party, or you want to show your loved ones how special your family dinner is. Everyone will love this lasagna!
The ragu' in this recipe is not your standard bolognese sauce. It's a white sauce (no tomatoes) made with delicious, dark duck meat, braised in white wine, and shredded in pieces, not grounded. This gives a distinctive and exquisite taste to the lasagna, and it perfectly combines with the delicate flavor of the cheese and the besciamella sauce.
This is not one of my usual 30 minutes-or-less recipe. But this dish is worth every minute of your time! Trust me :-)
Just turn on some music and make it fun! I'm listening to The Neighbourhood. I absolutely LOVE their Sweater Weather song! If you like, check out their video here.
LA friends: do you recognize any of those places in this video? How about the bridge over PCH and my beach? :-)


Ingredients: oven pan measuring 8 x 11 in. Serving about 6 people

• two duck breasts, about 1.25 lb                                 Printable Recipe
• 2 garlic cloves
• one rosemary sprig
• 5 or so fresh sage leaves
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• one cup of white wine
• 10 oz of fontina or other mild cheese like mozzarella or Swiss cheese, shredded or cut in small pieces
• 1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 box of oven-ready lasagna pasta - you won't use it all! I like the Barilla
• salt and pepper

For the besciamella (white) sauce:

• 2.5 cups of whole milk
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter (1/4 stick)
• half cup of all-purpose flour
• about 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of grated nutmeg

Preparation time: About 30 minutes to prepare, 1.5 hours to cook

Directions:
Step 1: In a large enough pan with two tablespoons of olive oil, over medium heat saute' the rosemary, the sage and the garlic cloves crushed (by pressing down with the flat blade of a large knife).

Step 2: Add the duck breast with skin and the white wine. We will remove the skin only at the end, this way it keeps the meat nice and tender while cooking! The wine should about cover the meat, unless the pot is too large, in which case you can add a bit of water (maybe half a cup!). Season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and let simmer over medium-low heat until ready, about 45-60 minutes based on the size of the duck breasts. Remember to check and turn the meat every 15 minutes or so. Add water if it gets too dry... but it shouldn't!

Step 3: Prepare the besciamella sauce as described here.

Step 4: Remove the skin from the duck breast, and shred the meat by cutting and pulling the meat apart with a fork, helping yourself with a knife if necessary. Place the meat back in the same pan with its sauce (after removing the garlic and some of the rosemary and sage if you like).

Step 5: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Now we are ready to start with the lasagna. In an oven pan, start with a couple of tablespoons of besciamella for the bottom, add a layer of pasta, topped with a third of the meat, one third of the fontina cheese, one quarter of the besciamella (you will need an extra layer of besciamella for the top!).

Step 6: Repeat the same layers two more times: pasta, meat, cheese and besciamella.
Then on top: only pasta, and last  the besciamella and all the Parmesan cheese.

Step 7: Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes covered. Uncover and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

Step 8: Let cool down for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving. This will allow the besciamella sauce to set a little, and not run off the plate making the lasagne too soft. You can also prepare the lasagna ahead of time, and only warming it up (really hot!!) before serving. In this case you don't need to wait before cutting and serving.

Buon Appetito!

Lasagne with Radicchio and Speck

Here is the perfect dish for a special dinner. You will be sure to impress your guests with this lasagna with radicchio and speck!

Last night I felt like cooking something a little special, which takes a bit longer to prepare, but it's well worth the effort.This is a great dish to cook for guests. You will definitely hear lots of "oohs" and "aahs" and especially "mmms". Ready to impress everybody with this deliciously Italian lasagna?!?

You can prepare it in advance and reheat it in the oven at the last minute. This will give you more time to mingle with the guests while sipping your wine, rather then spending all your time in the kitchen cooking, and missing out on all the fun.

Radicchio and speck are both ingredients that are not as common here as in Italy.

Radicchio is a leafy vegetable, with white-veined red leaves. It has a spicy and slightly bitter taste. It can be used row in a salad, or cooked and used in many different recipes. It comes in two varieties. The first is round about the size of a grapefruit, as shown in my picture. This is easier to find - I bought mine at my local Ralphs. The other variety is the radicchio of Treviso, which has a more elongated shapes, similar to the Belgian endive. Both can be used in this recipe.

Speck is a smoked prosciutto, native to Alto Adige, a region of Northern Italy. As you see in the picture, it looks similar to a prosciutto, a little darker in color, but with a unique taste and delicate aroma. This is a little harder to find. My local Whole Foods used to sell it, but no longer does. If you live in the Los Angeles area, you can find it at Guidi Marcello, in Santa Monica.

In this recipe, you could substitute speck with prosciutto or pancetta. The result will still be excellent.

Here is the recipe:                                                                      Printable Recipe

Ingredients: Pan measuring 8 x 11 in. Serving around 6 people - leftovers are always great!

• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 medium minced onion
• 1 radicchio (shown in picture)
• 6 oz of speck
• about 12 oz of mozzarella cheese (shredded or in cut in small pieces)
• 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 box of oven-ready lasagna pasta (Barilla)
• salt to taste

For the besciamella (white) sauce :

• 4 cups of whole milk
• 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter (1/4 stick)
• 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
• about 3/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

Preparation time: 45 minutes to prepare, plus 45 minutes to bake

Directions:

Step 1: In a large skillet saute' the chopped onion in the olive oil. Cook for a few minutes over medium heat. Add the radicchio sliced in thin stripes. Sprinkle with salt and let simmer over medium heat until soft, about 15 minutes.

Step 2: While the radicchio cooks, you can start with the besciamella sauce as shown in my recipe.
Cut  the speck in small strips and add it to the radicchio. Mix well and let cook for a couple of more minutes.

Step 3: As soon as the besciamella is cooked, we are ready to assemble the lasagna.

Start with a little bit of besciamella at the bottom of a rectangular baking dish - I used a 8x11 inch baking pan. 

Arrange the noodles flat, break them if necessary. Note, the Barilla lasagna is oven ready, so the noodles don't need to go in boiling water - so much easier to work with!

Over the noodle, spread about 1/4 of the radicchio with speck. You don't need to completely cover the pasta, just spread it around evenly.

Top with 1/4 of the mozzarella and a bit of the besciamella (about 1/5)

Repeat the layers a few more times: lasagna, radicchio/speck, mozzarella and besciamella.

End with lasagna pasta and only besciamella  and the Parmesan cheese.

You should be able to obtain 4 to 5 layers, if the pan is deep enough. The trick is to be able to use all the ingredients but not finished them before the end of the layering - especially besciamella. You need to cover the top completely with besciamella!

Step 4: Cover with foil and cook in the over for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Uncover and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes. You want the Parmesan cheese to melt and make a nice golden top. Increase the temperature and/or move the pan to the upper part of the oven if needed.

Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving. Mmm . . . Absolutely delizioso !

 Now, I want to here all your guests' comments !