Bigoli with duck

Let's discover a typical Vicenza dish: duck bigoli, a first course of ancient origin and full flavour.

Bigoli with duck, bigoi co' l'arna in Venetian dialect, are a typical dish of the province of Vicenza which then spread to Padua and Treviso. The original recipe involves preparing at home both the bigoli, spaghetti made with flour, egg, butter, salt and water, with a diameter of 3-4 mm, and the duck sauce.

The preparation of the duck ragù was done in the simplest way possible and the aim was not to throw anything away . The plucked animal was boiled in water to obtain a broth in which to cook the bigoli, while the innards were used to prepare the actual ragù. The boiled duck was then served as a second course. We will see how to prepare bigoli with duck following the traditional recipe , but if you want to create a tasty and simpler dish, you can opt for minced duck meat . It can be found in most well-stocked supermarkets and you can use it to prepare white duck ragù.

How to prepare the duck bigoli recipe

1. First you need to prepare the broth . Clean the duck by flaming it and remove the entrails (do not throw them but place them in a bowl filled with cold water). Alternatively you can ask your trusted butcher to carry out this operation for you.
2. Cut the celery, carrot and onion into coarse pieces and place them in a large pot together with the duck, the offal except the liver and the herbs (cloves, bay leaf). Let it boil for a couple of hours , then remove it from the broth and portion it.
3. Chop the boiled giblets , the liver you kept aside and the less valuable parts of the duck and fry them in the butter and sage for 10 minutes. Finally, season with salt and pepper.
4. Boil the bigoli in the duck broth , then drain them and sauté them in the pan with the sauce. If everything seems too dry, add a small ladle of broth. Serve the bigoli piping hot.

Today, particularly in the butcher shops of Vicenza, it is easy to find minced Muscovy duck to use to prepare a classic ragù, strictly in white. In this case, prepare a sauté and brown it in butter. Add 600 g of minced duck and deglaze with a glass of wine. Cook for at least an hour, seasoning with salt and pepper and flavoring with bay leaves, cloves (but also juniper) and sage. Then use it to season the pasta.

If you want, you can also prepare the bigoli yourself with our recipe: the dish will take on a completely different flavour.

You can also grind some duck meat yourself and make an excellent duck ragout just like you see in this video .

Conservation

The dish will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days although our advice is to store the pasta and sauce separately. Also in this case, storage does not exceed 2 days. However, you can freeze duck sauce for up to 3 months.

Origin and history

Bigoli co' l'arna are a traditional dish from the area between Thiene and Zanè , but are widespread throughout the Vicenza area . Tradition dictates that they are enjoyed on the first Sunday of October, during the feast of the Madonna del Rosario . Although it is a religious occasion, this holiday also has historical ties to important military events.

In fact, on 7 October 1571, the fleet of the Serenissima Republic of Venice achieved a decisive victory over the Turks in the famous battle of Lepanto . Before that date, the first Sunday of October was already a day of prayer for the Rosary brotherhoods. After the victory, Pope Pius V decided to dedicate that day to the celebration of Our Lady of Victory . Subsequently, in 1573, Pope Gregory XIII elevated this holiday to a universal occasion with the title of Blessed Virgin of the Rosary . In this regard there is also a proverb : "boiled arna and bigolo round in Rosario makes the world happy" .

It must be said that if today it is customary to prepare ragù with minced duck, originally the bigoli were seasoned with tòcio , the cooking juices of the roast duck which was served as a second course. The recipe has undergone several changes and, to date, the version with giblets is the most authentic.

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