Budget Friendly Linguine With Country Pork Ragu And Garlicky Asparagus Recipes

PENNE WITH PORK RAGOUT

Steps:

• Dry the pork well and sprinkle it on all sides with 1 tablespoon of the kosher salt and the pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over high heat. Working in batches to avoid crowding the pan, brown the pork on all sides, about 4 minutes per side. Remove the pork to a plate and set aside. While the pork is browning, tie the thyme, rosemary and bay leaf into a bundle using butcher's twine.
• Once all of the pork has been browned, reduce the heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil no oil remains in the pot. Add the onions and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring and scraping up any browned bits. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 or 3 minutes. Deglaze with the white wine and cook until reduced to nearly dry, 6 to 10 minutes. Add the chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, Parmesan rind, chile flakes and the herb bundle and bring to a simmer. Return the pork to the pot, tucking it in under the sauce. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until the pork is fork tender, about 1 hour 45 minutes.
• Remove the pork and shred into bite-size pieces using two forks. Remove the herb bundle from the sauce and add the pork back to the pot. Stir in the olive oil and half of the grated Parmesan. Keep warm over low heat.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the penne for about 1 or 2 minutes less than the package directions. Drain and add the pasta to the sauce, tossing to coat. Finish cooking the pasta in the sauce, about 2 minutes, adding a ladle of pasta water as needed. Serve topped with the remaining grated Parmesan, or more as desired, and a drizzle of olive oil. Garnish with a few leaves of baby arugula, if using.

CARMINE'S COUNTRY-STYLE RIGATONI

Steps:

• In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and cook it, stirring, for about 1 minute or until it is golden brown. Take care not to let the garlic burn. Add the onions and cook the mixture for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the onions are golden brown.
• Add the sausage, basil, and parsley. Break up the sausage, using a wooden spoon or long-handled fork, and cook the mixture for 2 to 3 minutes or until the sausage is browned. Add the beans, chicken stock, and butter, raise the heat to high, and bring the sauce to aboil. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer it briskly for 5 to 8 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Stir in 1/4 cup of the grated cheese and cook the sauce for about 3 minutes or until it thickens. Season it to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the prosciutto and 1/2 cup of the cheese. Let the mixture simmer 2 minutes before removing it from the heat.
• Meanwhile, in a large pot filled with boiling salted water, cook the pasta for 4 minutes. Add the broccoli and cook it for another 3 to 4 minutes or until the pasta is al dente.
• Drain the pasta well. Bring the sauce to a boil. Add the pasta and broccoli to the sauce and mix well. Stir in 1/4 cup of grated cheese, if desired. Serve the pasta with the remaining 1/4 cup of grated cheese passed on the side.

PORK RAGU WITH PENNE

Steps:

• Roughly chop spring onions, carrots and celery sticks. Add to a high powered blender or food processor along with the deseeded chili. Blitz it until it becomes a chunky paste. If you're using a food processor, don't worry about pre-chopping.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet/frying pan. When the oil is hot, add the chunky vegetable paste. Cook 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
• In a mixing bowl: add the pork, 1 teaspoon salt, fennel and oregano. Mix until thoroughly combined.
• Add the pork mixture to the frying pan with the vegetable paste and brown the meat on a medium heat, about 5 minutes.
• Fill large pot of water 2/3 of the way full and add 1 tablespoon sea salt. Bring the water to a boil and then carefully add in the pasta. Cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente - springy & chewy & not mushy. It should take about 10 minutes. Make sure to stir often. Gluten free pasta likes to clump so you really need to keep it moving to prevent it from sticking together.
• While the pasta is cooking return to your ragu. Add in the vinegar, garlic, black pepper, chopped tomatoes + 1 cup of water and let simmer for 10 minutes on a medium-low heat.

COUNTRY STYLE PORK RIB RAGU

Steps:

• Salt and pepper both sides of the country style pork ribs.
• Heat a large braising pan over high heat until it's hot and then add in the clarified butter.
• Sear both sides of the meat and remove from pan. Do this in multiple steps if the meat gets too crowded.
• Do not clean out the pot. The baked-on stuff on the bottom of the pot is called a "fond. The fond that is leftover in the pot will add to the flavoring of the sauce. Add carrots, celery and onions. Cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
• Time to deglaze the pan (deglazing means to loosen up the fond and dissolve it into the sauce). Add the red wine. Using a wooded spatula scrape the fond and allow that to meld in with the wine. Bring the wine to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes.
• Add in the garlic, rosemary sprigs, tomatoes, beef broth, bay leaves and stir.
• This will give you a lot of liquid in your sauce. Time to reduce. Cook at high heat until the sauce has reduced by about one third. NOTE: You may want to reduce after you cook the meat. I prefer to keep the meat out of the liquid a little bit so I reduce by one third before putting the meat back in to braise.
• Add meat that was set aside earlier back into the dish.
• Allow the dish to come back to a boil and cover the pot and lower the flame and simmer for 3 hours. Test the meat and if it tears apart easily, then you your dish is ready to remove from the heat.
• NOTE: While braising, use a spoon and scoop out the fat that starts to gather on the top of the liquid. Leaving it in the dish will cause a bad mouth-feel and also not sit well while digesting.
• Remove the meat from the pan and remove the bones and any hard cartilage parts (careful! The meat is hot!). Shred the meat with two forks and add back into the dish.
• Salt and pepper your dish to taste.
• Sometimes the tomatoes aren't sweet enough by themselves and if you notice too much acidity, add in a little honey (or sugar of choice) and taste, add more if needed.
• At this point, what I like to do is to leave it uncovered and leave over medium heat while the sauce continues to bubble and reduce even more. Then I boil my water and make my egg noodles.
• Once egg noodles are done cooking, drain.
• Serve by plating a wide bowl with noodles, spoon the ragu over the noodles, top with shredded pecorino romano cheese and then lastly sprinkle the chopped parsley over the cheese.