Recipe of the Week: Outlier’s Duck Bolognese

Recipes for Seattlemag.com’s Recipe of the Week are contributed by participating chefs, cookbook authors and food bloggers. This week’s recipe comes from executive chef Shawn Applin, who last week opened Outlier, the new Hotel Monaco restaurant formerly known as Sazerac.

Name of Recipe: Duck Bolognese

Source of Recipe: Outlier menu

Why I Love This Recipe: I learned a version of this recipe from a chef named Stefan Terge, who owns Perbacco in San Francisco. At the time, he was the chef of Scala’s Bistro where I first got my start with Kimpton [Hotels]. Stefan focuses on Northern Italian cuisine and personally took the time to show me this recipe. It’s absolutely delicious, and I’ve had it committed to memory ever since. It’s on the new Outlier menu so come give it a try!

Duck Bolognese 
Serves 10

5 pounds ground duck meat
1 1/2 onions, shredded
2 carrots, shredded
1/2 bunch celery, shredded
3 T garlic, minced
16 oz plum tomatoes, pureed 
2 qt veal stock 
2 qt duck stock (or dark chicken stock) 
2 cup red wine
2 bunch basil, minced 
1 cup parsley, minced 
2 ea bay leaves (in sachet, remove before serving) 
¼ cup thyme, minced 
1 pt heavy cream
salt/pepper, to taste 

Brown meat, add onions, carrots, celery and garlic and saute until translucent. Add red wine, tomatoes and stocks and reduce by 2/3. Add heavy cream, herbs and season to taste. Cook your favorite pasta, then coat in the Bolognese. Add some rough chopped picholine olives, serve and top with fresh grated Parmesan Reggiano.