Eats: Duck Ragu

OK. I had been dreaming about duck ragu for three days, after I came across it in Molly Steven's excellent book, which is All About Braising. There's something magical on a cold winter's day to think of a meaty stew very slowly transforming at a low temperature in the oven, the continuous convection of air and space drawing out every nuance of flavour from the meat and its aromatics. All the prettier with a bright red dutch oven to brighten a dreary day. There was duck, and onions and celery and carrots (I used thanksgiving sweet potatoes) and garlic, rosemary and allspice and bay leaves, tomatoes and chicken stock. Then there was the richness of duck skin crackling sizzling away in its own fat in the cast iron pan. The whole house smelled of the sweetness of duck ragu, and it was everything I had dreamed it would be.

Thank you, Molly, for some wonderful experiences shared. I would highly recommend her book. This would be the third braise I've done or adapted from it, the other two being beef rendang and lobak. No, fourth, including osso bucco.