PENNE WITH PORK RAGU

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Serves 4

You can make this sauce with all sorts of meats such as duck legs, venison or beef; I often use pheasant thighs that I freeze separately after I’ve used the breasts for escalopes and made a stock from the carcass and drumsticks.

INGREDIENTS

– 1 large onion

– 4 garlic cloves

– 500g meat from a pork knuckle or shoulder

– a few tbsp vegetable

oil, for frying

– plain flour, for dusting – 1 tbsp tomato purée

– 1 tsp chopped thyme

or oregano leaves – 100ml red wine – 750ml-1l hot beef or

chicken stock –400gcanof

chopped tomatoes

To serve

– 250–300g penne pasta – 2-3 tbsp extra-virgin

olive oil

– 70g Parmesan or pecorino, freshly grated

METHOD

Peel and finely chop the onion, and peel and crush the garlic. Cut the pork into chunks of roughly 1cm.

Heat a little vegetable oil in a large, heavy frying pan. Season the pork and lightly dust with flour. Fry in a couple of batches on a high heat for 3-4 minutes, until nicely coloured, then transfer to a plate or dish.

Gently fry the onion and garlic in a tablespoon of the vegetable oil for 3-4 minutes without colouring.

Stir in the tomato purée and thyme or oregano, then gradually add the red wine, hot stock and chopped tomatoes, stirring constantly to avoid lumps forming. Bring to the boil, add the pork, season, then lower the heat and simmer gently for about an hour, until the meat is tender. Taste and season again if necessary.

Cook the penne according to the packet instructions, drain and put back in the pan. Mix two thirds of the ragu with the penne and cook on a very low heat for a few minutes to allow the pasta to absorb the sauce.

Serve in warmed pasta bowls with the rest of the sauce on top, then spoon over a little olive oil. Serve the grated Parmesan or pecorino separately.