Rigatoni with Spicy Calabrese-Style Pork Ragu

For years my hands down favorite Italian meat sauce was beefy Bolognese.  However, I found an intriguing pork ragu recipe in Bon Appétit’s February 2013 issue. Hot and sweet Italian sausage, ground pork and savory tomato sauce, this pork ragu is now on my favorites list.

There are all sorts of canned tomatoes available these days.  My favorite by far is Rao’s Homemade Italian Peeled Tomatoes.  Certified organic, these tomatoes are of high quality and very flavorful. I once found them at Whole Foods but when I checked back again they were not on the shelf.  Not to worry, these days you can find almost anything on-line.  I’ve purchased other brands of whole canned tomatoes and had to peel off skin that was left on by poor handling.  Rao’s tomatoes are always peeled well, the tomatoes and puree are a beautiful deep red, and they taste delicious.  They make a really good homemade pizza sauce too.

 The prices at Whole Foods markets can be high, however, I’m willing to spend a bit more for excellent quality meat and fish, unique and sometimes difficult to find (on Maui) pantry ingredients, and fruits and vegetables that are not easy to come by.  At the meat counter I found many choices of fresh Italian-style sausage to use in this recipe so I decided on a couple of different types for the ragu (including chicken as well as pork).

 Hot chicken, sweet chicken, and hot pork sausage.

You begin with a mirepoix which is a combination of finely diced celery, onion, and carrot, the foundation of many meat dishes and sauces.

Rigatoni with Spicy Calabrese-Style Pork Ragu

Adapted from Bon Appétit 

Serves 6 – 8

Ingredients

1 medium onion, quartered

1 medium carrot, peeled, cut into 1″ pieces

1 large celery stalk, cut into 1″ pieces

4 medium garlic cloves

2 teaspoons fresh oregano leaves

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley, divided

1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound hot and/or sweet Italian sausage, casings removed (I used both chicken and pork sausage)

1 pound ground pork

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1  teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup white wine

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 pound rigatoni or penne pasta

3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan or Grana Padano

Preparation

Pulse onion, carrot, celery, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, and 1/4 cup parsley in a food processor until finely chopped ; transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

Puree tomatoes with juices in processor, set aside.

Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat; add sausage and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until browned, about 4 minutes.  Add ground pork, fennel seeds, and season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cook, breaking up pork with a wooden spoon until no longer pink.  Add wine, and stir until wine has evaporated, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate.

Increase heat to medium-high.  Add reserved vegetable mixture to pan, season with salt, and cook, stirring often, until golden 8 – 10 minutes.

Stir tomato paste and 1 cup water in a small bowl; add to pot.  Cook, scraping up any  browned bits from bottom of pot.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the liquid has almost evaporated, 6 – 8 minutes.

Add reserved meat and tomato puree and 1 cup water.  Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, until meat is tender, about 3 hours. Bon Appétit’s recipe mentions adding more water as needed to keep the meat submerged however I found this was not necessary.  Stir in remaining 1/4 cup parsley. Adjust seasoning, adding salt if needed.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water just before you are ready to serve dinner.  The original recipe calls for reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid then adding it to the sauce along with the pasta and 3/4 cups parmesan and remaining 1/4 cup parsley.  I did not add any additional liquid and plated the ragu in  individual bowls, spooned the sauce over the pasta and sprinkled with parmesan before serving.

*Leftover ragu freezes well in airtight plastic containers.