Lunch: Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Duck Sauce

One of the best-loved pastas in the Italian city of Trieste is the whole wheat spaghetti known as bigoli, which is often topped with anitra in sugo, an intensely flavored sauce made with duck. This recipe, from the excellent restaurant Hosteria Bellavista

Ingredients

1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms (about 3/4 ounce)
2 cups hot water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 5- to 6-pound duck, boned, skinned, meat cut into 1-inch pieces, bones reserved
3 medium onions, chopped
1/3 cup chopped pancetta or bacon
1/2 pound chicken livers, trimmed, coarsely chopped
2 bay leaves
1 large sprig fresh rosemary
4 whole cloves
1 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
1 pound bigoli (whole wheat spaghetti) or spaghetti
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Place dried porcini mushrooms in medium bowl. Add 2 cups hot water. Let porcini stand until softened, about 30 minutes. Drain porcini; reserve soaking liquid. Coarsely chop porcini.
Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add duck meat and bones. Sauté until golden, about 8 minutes. Drain off all but 1 tablespoon fat. Add onions and pancetta. Sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add chicken livers and porcini and sauté 2 minutes. Add bay leaves, rosemary and cloves; sauté 5 minutes. Add wine and simmer until almost all liquid evaporates, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Mix in tomato paste. Add broth and reserved mushroom soaking liquid, leaving any sediment in bowl. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until meat is tender, about 1 hour.
Discard bones, bay leaves, rosemary and cloves from sauce. Skim any fat from surface. Simmer sauce until thickened to sauce consistency, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead; chill. Bring to simmer before using.)
Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain well. Transfer pasta to large bowl.
Spoon half of duck sauce over pasta. Toss pasta briefly to coat. Spoon remaining duck sauce over. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

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