Using flavored pasta to add depth: Mushroom Pasta with Duck

Mushroom pasta, porcini mushrooms, leftover duck and duck stock combine to create an earthy, peasanty meal. Recipe below.

Weeks ago I promised you a recipe using the carcass of the roasted duck and leftover duck meat. I hope you put that duck in the freezer, because this week, in the lull between Thanksgiving and the next round of holiday frenzy, I got a bright idea.

We were at the Chicago One of a Kind Show—actually I was at the show for the second time in a weekend in which holiday, birthday and other gift giving issues were addressed 150%—and wandered back into the gourmet food area. There, we came across the pasta company Pasta Pappone. If you have been following us for a while, you know we love our pasta, and we are always happy to try new to us brands. The first thing my hand went to (and, I want to note I wasn’t even hungry) was the Mighty Mushroom Linguine. That is what we used for this dish.

There are any number of flavored pastas out there. Used occasionally, they can add another layer to simple sauces. One go-to for us is saffron pasta. Mushroom pasta is another good option, adding an earthy umami. Here, we amped up that quality with dried porcini mushrooms.

This recipe came together really quickly, because I already had the duck stock made up and could thaw out the leftover meat from our previous outburst of duck cookery. Frankly, I was really pleased with the result—a simple, direct, peasanty dish, easy and satisfying in these winter months.

Duck stock really is needed for this dish. It has a depth and richness even the best chicken stock can’t bring to the party. Think of this not as an obstacle, but as yet one more reason to roast some ducks.

The Mighty Mushroom pasta was very nice with this—not a great punch in the mouth of mushroom flavor, but mild and delicate. It played very well with the duck and porcini in the sauce. It would also be wonderful on its own, simply finished with olive oil, a little garlic and a little Parmesan.

Serve this dish with a glass of sherry, or a chilly Gewürztraminer, or a good IPA.

Duck with Mushroom Linguine
Serves 3 to 4

2 cups duck stock (make ahead—recipe follows)
1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1 shallot
1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence
3 tablespoons ham coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
3 tablespoons brandy
12 ounces uncooked mushroom linguine (see Kitchen Notes)
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
2 cups duck meat, shredded or coarsely chopped
a grating of Parmesan cheese

For the duck stock:
2 carcasses from roasted ducks, well picked
2 onions each stuck with 3 cloves
1 parsnip, peeled and cut into big chunks
3 or 4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
3 bay leaves

Make the duck stock. Put the duck carcasses in a big stock pot. Break the skeletons into pieces with your hands and kitchen shears, if needed, to help them fit. Add the onions, parsnip, carrots and bay leaves, then add cold water until the bones are well covered. Bring to a boil, then simmer gently about 45 minutes. Discard any solids, decant the stock into containers, and cool in the fridge. Remove the congealed fat and save it separately. Use in the next three or four days or freeze.

Make the pasta sauce. Put the dried porcini mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with 1-1/2 cups very hot water. Let soak for half an hour. Take the mushrooms out of the water—save the soaking liquid! When mushrooms are cool enough to handle, chop them coarsely.

Start bringing a big pot of salted water to the boil, to cook the pasta.

In a big deep skillet, heat the olive oil over medium flame. Sauté the shallot and garlic until the shallot turns translucent, about a minute. Add the Herbes de Provence, chopped ham, chopped mushrooms and black pepper and sauté for two or three minutes. Add the brandy, stir everything and cook until the brandy has cooked away. Add the duck stock and 1/2 cup of the mushroom soaking liquid (avoid the gritty part at the bottom of the bowl) and gently simmer everything together.

Meanwhile, the pasta water should be coming to a boil. Cook it according to package directions. The pasta we used, Mighty Mushroom Linguine from Pasta Pappone, took 6 minutes to cook to a pleasant al dente.

Add two or three tablespoons of cooking sauce to the cornstarch-water mix, to warm it gently, then pour into the sauce and stir to let it cook. When it begins to thicken and clear, add in the duck and let everything heat together.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a cup of the pasta water. Add the pasta to the pan with the sauce, and toss everything together. If the sauce seems too thick, thin it with a bit of the pasta cooking water. Grate in the Parmesan cheese, toss everything together, and it is ready to plate.

Kitchen Notes

Can I use another pasta? Sure. I recommend linear kinds. This dish would be nice with saffron pasta or lemon-pepper pasta or basil pasta. Plain regular pasta would be totally fine too.

What else can I do with all that extra duck stock? Make a satisfying lunch soup with 2 cups of stock, a drained, rinsed can of white beans, some spinach or kale torn into bits, a good grating of black pepper and a squeeze of lemon. Or use it in place of chicken stock to add a silky richness to whatever you’re cooking.

Why should I save the duck fat? Because you want to use it to roast potatoes. Trust me. OMG potatoes cut into wedges and oven roasted with duck fat and sea salt.