I recently finished reading Dinner, A Love Story by Jenny Rosenstrach. If you haven’t heard of the book, check it out! It’s great for helping you get started with meal planning tips with a family and is filled with great, yummy recipes. I’m going to post my review of the book soon. To celebrate finishing the book, I cooked up Jenny’s Pork Shoulder Ragu!
I made a couple changes because I couldn’t get my hands on fresh thyme (TJ’s didn’t have any and I didn’t want to stop at another store with kids in tow) so I used rosemary I had at home. Don’t do this unless you enjoy picking out all the little rosemary leaves or like eating them. I also used linguine noodles since I had them at home already (I’m a big believer in using ingredients you already have if possible)!
Now I know why she cooks this dish so often! Takes some time for the braising but is super easy. I put mine in the oven, took the girls to the park, recruited my husband to turn every hour or so, came home and voila! We had dinner. Hope you enjoy!
Pork Shoulder Ragù with Linguine
Ingredients
- 2 to 2 1/2- pound boneless pork shoulder roast
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small onion; chopped
- 1 garlic clove; minced
- 1 - 28 oz can whole tomatoes or diced with juice
- 1 cup red wine; plus more if needed
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 5 sprigs fresh oregano
- Small handful of fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce for smokiness (Jenny uses Trader Joe’s Hot Chili Sauce; optional)
- Linguine
- Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Liberally salt and pepper the pork roast. Add olive oil and butter to large Dutch oven and heat over medium-high until butter melts, but does not burn. Add pork roast to pan and brown on all sides, about 8-10 minutes in all.
- Add the onions and garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, wine, thyme, oregano, fennel and hot sauce (if using) and bring to a boil. Cover, and put in oven. Braise for 3-4 hours, turning every hour or so. If you are cooking less pork (only 1 pound or 1.5), you only need to braise for 2 hours. Add more liquid (water, wine, or tomato sauce) if needed. I recommend adding more tomato sauce. (The liquid should come to about 1/3 of the way up the pork.) Meat is done when it’s practically falling apart. Put on a cutting board and pull it apart with two forks, then add back to pot and stir.
- Cook 1 to 2 pounds pasta (depending on how many people you are feeding) according to package directions. When it’s ready, place into individual bowls and top with the pork shoulder ragu and lots of Parmigiano-Reggiano!