Our freezer has been filling up over the past few weeks, so it was time to inventorize and start making some dishes with the leftovers. I still had a ball of fresh pasta dough and 500 grams of marinated pork loin which I never used in the porchetta a while back. So I was immediately excited to make a ragu with pappardelle. I find it easier to cut my own pasta by hand, but that tends to be a bit less accurate than using the pasta machine. So in the end is was more a mix of taglatelle and pappardelle, but still tasted good!
Braised Pork & Fennel Ragù served with Homemade Pappardelle
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Loading...Ingredients
- ± 400 - 500 g pork shoulder, fat trimmed off. Cut into 4 pieces.
- 1 onion, halved and sliced
- 2-3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 fennel bulb, sliced. Keep fennel fronds aside
- 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
- You can also add 1-2 chopped carrots, but I didn't have any
- 2-3 sprigs thyme
- 1 tbsp chopped rosemary
- 3-4 leave of sage chopped
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 1 heaped tbsp of tomato paste
- 1 can whole tomatoes
- 1 cup of red wine
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 1 tsp of sugar
- 400 grams dried papparadelle or homemade
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 160°C
Start off by searing the seasoned pork pieces on all sides in a Dutch oven.
When done remove from pan and to the same pan add 1 sliced onion, 1 sliced fennel bulb and 2 chopped celery sticks.
Sauté for 4 to 5 minutes or until the onions begin to sweat and become slightly translucent.
Add garlic, stir together and sauté for 3-4 minutes.
Add the herbs: chopped thyme, rosemary and sage, sauté for 3-4 minutes.
Add a tablespoon of tomato paste. Stir through and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.
Deglaze the pan with 1 cup of red wine, scraping all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
Reduce until the sauce has slightly thickened and the alcohol has evaporated.
Add 1 can of whole tomatoes (including the juices) and bring to a simmer on high heat, slightly breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon.
Season with pepper and salt and a teaspoon of sugar.
Once mixture is simmering return the pork to the pan and add 2 bayleaves.
Cover the pot and place on the lowest shelf of the oven.
Braise the pork for about 2 hours, until the meat is easily shredded with a fork.
When done, remove from the oven and finely shred the meat with 2 forks. Taste and season if needed.
If using packaged pasta, cook as instructed. If using fresh pasta: boil for 3 minutes in a large pot of salted water.
Remove the pasta from the pan with a pasta spoon and add directly to the ragù, adding a few tablespoons of pasta water to the sauce to thicken it slightly and make it nice and glossy.
To serve sprinkle over some of the fennel fronds and shaved parmesan, both are optional!
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