Venetian Chicken Ragu

Venetian Chicken Ragu

1 tbsp olive oil
8 chicken legs
2 onions finely chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed and diced
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp plain flour
250ml/9oz red wine
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
1 chicken stock cube made up to 250 ml stock
3 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked and chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp milk
pasta
parmesan grated

1.Heat the oil in a large pan, add the chicken legs and brown on all sides for about 10 minutes.

Remove to a plate and set aside.

Add the onions to the pan and cook for 5 mins until softened.

Add the garlic and cook for a further 1 min and

then stir in the cinnamon and

flour and

cook for a further minute.

Add the wine, chicken stock, tomatoes, herbs, sugar and seasoning.

Add Chicken back into pot. Bring to a simmer and then lower the heat, cover with a lid and cook for 2  hours stirring occasionally.






2. Carefully lift the legs out of the sauce and place on a plate - they will be very tender so try not to lose any meat. Pull off and discard the fat, then shred the meat with two forks and discard the bones.  Add the meat back into the sauce with milk and simmer uncovered for a further 20-15mins while cooking the pasta.

3. Cook the pasta following pack instructions, then drain, reserving a cup of the pasta water, add the pasta to the ragu, stir to coat all the pasta in the sauce and cook for 2 min more, adding a splash of cooking liquid if it looks dry. Serve with grated parmesan if you like.



Our thoughts about this recipe.

First off I modified it a bit by adding mushrooms to it. Instead of duck I used chicken.

I think the recipe called for entirely TOO MUCH cinnamon.  The spice overwhelmed the dish.  We did NOT enjoy it at all.  SO this recipe for us was a bomb but worth the effort in testing it as far as cookign skills are concerned.

Kathy's photographs