There’s not a lot that Jonathan won’t have a crack at.
Pete’s baby cousin, who has never abseiled before in his life, recently announced that he was going down the side of the 28-storey AMP building at Circular Quay. And with typical Jono panache, he did so in a lycra Spiderman costume.
He then told me in no uncertain terms that such bravery should not go unrewarded, so last week he invited himself and the lovely Laura over for dinner. He’ll squeal in protest when he reads that and, truth be told, we’re always delighted to have the opportunity to share a meal with them (particularly Small Man, who likes to bend Uncle Jono’s ear about golf).
We served Mystery Meat Pie (although I knew what the meat was this time), and Pete’s dinner party speciality – duck ragu pasta.
The day before, I roasted four duck marylands for a couple of hours in the oven until brown and crispy. I fed one to Big Boy who was home for lunch, and stripped the meat from the other three, discarding the bones and skin.
The roasting process produced a large quantity of duck fat and juice, which I poured into a bowl and popped into the fridge. Once cold, the fat lifted cleanly off the top (and was stored in the freezer), leaving behind a small quantity of jellied stock which was used in the pasta dish.
Duck Ragu Pasta
(adapted from a recipe in Jamie Oliver’s Cook With Jamie)
- shredded duck meat from three roasted marylands (thigh and drumstick portion)
- olive oil
- 6 slices of pancetta, finely chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 yellow capsicum, seeded and chopped
- ½ red capsicum, seeded and chopped
- 2 sticks celery, finely diced
- 6 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 x 400g tins of San Marzano peeled tomatoes
- ½ bottle fruity young red wine (we used an Ashton Hills Pinot Noir)
- leftover duck stock from roasting
- 500g pasta (we used orecchiette, but Jamie recommends occhi di lupo)
- 50g salted butter
- flat leaf parsley for garnish
- 4 teaspoons of chardonnay vinegar
- 2 teaspoon of sherry vinegar
- 1 – 2 teaspoons sugar
- salt to taste
1. In a large saute pan, heat a little olive oil and fry the pancetta until brown, then add the onion, capsicums, celery, rosemary, cinnamon and garlic. Fry until softened, about 10 minutes, then add the tomatoes and red wine. Lower the heat and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes.
2. Add the shredded duck and duck stock, and simmer for another half an hour, adding water if required. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta.
3. Remove the cinnamon stick and add the vinegars, sugar and salt, all to taste. The purpose of the vinegars and sugar is to give the dish a sweet/sour taste. Jamie’s original recipe specifies orange juice and zest, combined with red wine vinegar. Heat for a few minutes more to amalgamate the flavours, then add the butter and allow to melt into the sauce.
4. Boil the pasta until al dente, then drain well and add to the sauce. Serve with a scattering of chopped parsley and grated Parmesan cheese.
. . . . .
We finished the meal with Small Man’s Treacle Pudding and a large bowl of microwave custard. Having eaten himself into a food-induced coma, Spiderman fell asleep on the floor shortly thereafter!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 