Agnolotti With Pork RagÙ Recipes

AGNOLOTTI WITH BROWN BUTTER AND SAGE

Steps:

• Brown the meat in the olive oil, removing the pieces as they brown. Add the chopped carrot, celery and onion and saute this until translucent. Add the bay leaves, sherry and broth and return the squirrel pieces to the pot. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the meat wants to fall off the bones.
• Fish out the meat and debone it. Chop roughly and put the meat into a food processor. Pulse it into an almost-paste. Let it cool in a bowl. Once the meat is cool, add all the remaining filling ingredients and mix well.
• While the meat is cooking, make the pasta dough. Mix all the pasta ingredients together in a bowl and knead well for about 5 minutes. Wrap in plastic wrap and let the dough sit an hour to hydrate, or vacuum seal and it'll hydrate immediately.
• Once the dough has hydrated and the filling is ready, cut the pasta into five pieces. Keep all but the piece you are working on wrapped in plastic so it doesn't dry out.
• Roll out the pasta into long, thin rectangles. On my Atlas pasta roller, I roll to No. 7, which is two settings away from the thinnest, which is No. 9. That'll give you an idea how thin to roll it.
• Place a teaspoon of filling at intervals on the pasta sheet. Remember you are folding over this sheet, so put the filling about halfway down the sheet. Fold the sheet over the filling. Using the thumb and forefinger of both hands, pinch the pasta over the filling to seal, pushing out all the air.
• Use a ravioli cutter to even out the edge of the whole sheet where the top and bottom come together. Discard that little bit of pasta. Use the same ravioli roller to separate each agnolotto. Set them on a baking sheet dusted with semolina flour or corn meal. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add enough salt to make the water taste salty. Boil the agnolotti until they float, and then 1 minute more.
• Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large pan, ideally non-stick. Add the sage and toasted pine nuts and let this fry over medium heat. When the agnolotti are cooked, move them to this pan, toss to coat with the sage brown butter and pine nuts, and serve at once.

AGNOLOTTI BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• For the pasta dough: Whisk the 00 or all-purpose flour and the semolina flour in the bowl of a stand mixer to combine. Make a well in the center.
• Combine the whole eggs, yolks, milk and olive oil in a small bowl and pour it into the well. Using the dough hook, mix on low speed until the dough just starts to come together, then increase the speed to medium and mix for 5 minutes.
• Lightly flour your work surface and turn the dough onto it. Knead the dough by hand until it is smooth and elastic, and springs back when you press it with your finger, about 10 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• For the filling: Combine the ricotta, mascarpone and Parmesan in a small bowl. Put the mixture in a pastry bag and refrigerate until needed.
• For the ragu: Put the beef stock, red wine and porcinis in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer.
• Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the beef, hot and sweet Italian sausages and prosciutto and cook, breaking up the beef and sausage with a whisk, until well browned, about 10 minutes. Season with some salt and pepper.
• Stir the tomato paste into the meat, then stir in the rosemary, thyme, garlic, bay leaves and onions and cook, stirring, until the onions soften slightly, about 5 minutes.
• Strain the beef stock mixture into the meat. Add the tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat so the mixture simmers and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 45 minutes. Add the cream and continue to simmer another 15 minutes or so. Stir in the parsley. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
• To fill and finish the agnolotti: Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Set a pasta roller at the widest setting.
• Pass the first piece of dough through the roller, fold it in half and run it through again. Fold the dough in half again, dust it with flour, and run it through the roller again. Reduce the width setting on the roller and run the dough through. Continue to run the dough through, reducing the width with each pass, until the pasta is thin enough so that you can see the shadow of your hand through the other side. Lightly flour your work surface and lay the pasta sheet on top.
• Pipe 1 teaspoon of filling about 1 inch from the edge. Continue to pipe additional teaspoons of filling 1 inch apart, from one end to the other. Fold the dough over so that it extends about an inch past the filling (it won¿t extend to the opposite edge), press to seal the long edge and then trim the excess dough from the sealed side. With your fingers perpendicular to the table, pinch between the mounds to seal the filling in. Then use the cutter to cut between each mound, through the pinch, creating little purses. Dust the finished agnolotti with flour. Refrigerate until ready to cook. Repeat the process with the 3 remaining pieces of dough and the filling.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the agnolotti, stir and, when they float to the surface, leave them in the water for an additional minute. Use a spider or slotted spoon to transfer the agnolotti to a large bowl. Ladle over some ragu, toss, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Serve immediately.

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.

BRAISED PORK RAGU

Steps:

• Season pork with the rosemary, thyme, pepper, and salt. Heat oil in a large large Dutch over over medium-high heat. Sear pork in the hot oil until well browned on all sides, about 10 minutes.
• Stir onion and carrot into pot; cook until onion is soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Pour in the wine; stir, scraping the bottom of the pot to release any browned bits from the bottom. Stir in the tomatoes and stock. Bring to a simmer; cook until meat is very tender and the sauce has thickened, about 30 minutes.

GARGANELLI WITH PORK RAGU

Steps:

• Season pork butt with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large ovenproof heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Brown pork, turning pieces occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Using slotted spoon, transfer to a large bowl. Add sausage to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to bowl with pork.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to pot, and heat until hot but not smoking. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in carrot and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes.
• Add tomato paste; cook, stirring occasionally, 7 minutes. Stir in mortadella, herbs, chile, pork, sausage, and any juices from bowl. Stir in milk, and let mixture come to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally, until milk has been absorbed, 20 to 30 minutes. Gradually stir in wine and stock. Bring to simmer over medium-high heat.
• Cover pot; transfer to oven. Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed, and meat is very tender, about 3 hours. If liquid is absorbed before meat is tender, add water (about 1 cup at a time), and continue cooking. Season with salt and pepper.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add salt. Add pasta; cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Add pasta to pork ragu; toss well, adding up to 1/2 cup pasta water if pasta seems dry. Serve with Parmesan.

PORK RAGù AL MAIALINO

Steps:

• Using a sharp knife, remove the thick skin from the pork, leaving a sheen of fat on top of the meat. Season aggressively with salt and place in the refrigerator until ready to use, as long as overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place a deep saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. When it shimmers, gently cook the onion, celery and fennel until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add the stock and thyme and bring to a simmer, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Rinse pork to remove excess salt, dry with a paper towel and add to seasoned broth. Cover and place in the oven for 90 minutes or more, until the meat just begins to pull away from the bone.
• Allow both meat and broth to cool on the stove top for 30 minutes, or until you can touch the meat with your hands. Remove the pork and gently pull the meat from the bone, then tear the chunks into bite-size shreds. Place these in a large bowl.
• Strain the liquid into a separate bowl and then pour enough of it over the meat to barely cover. (Use the rest for soup.) Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• Put a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil.
• Place a large pan over medium-high heat and add the pork and braising liquid. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the butter and stir to emulsify.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted water according to the directions on the package, 10 to 12 minutes. When it is finished, drain and add to the sauce along with a splash of pasta water. Simmer for 1 minute, then add the lemon juice, half of the cheese, a tablespoon of olive oil and the parsley. Stir to incorporate.
• Serve immediately, topped with arugula and the remaining cheese.

CAVATELLI WITH PORK RAGù

Steps:

• Season pork with salt and pepper. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook meat, turning occasionally, until browned, 10-15 minutes; transfer to a large plate.
• Drain all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot. Reduce heat to medium and cook onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Tie rosemary, oregano, and bay leaf into a bundle with kitchen twine; add to pot along with pork, tomatoes, wine, peppercorns, nutmeg, and cloves. Add water just to cover meat and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer, adding more water as needed, until meat is very tender, 1-1 1/2 hours.
• Discard herb bundle. Using 2 forks, shred meat in pot; cook, uncovered, over medium heat until sauce is thickened, 8-10 minutes.
• Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente; drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid.
• Add currants, if using, and kale to ragù; cook until kale is soft, about 4 minutes. Add pasta; cook, adding reserved pasta cooking liquid as needed, until sauce coats pasta. Mix in butter and 1/2 cup Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Serve pasta drizzled with oil and topped with more Parmesan.
• DO AHEAD: Pork can be cooked (do not shred) 2 days ahead. Let cool in braising liquid; cover and chill.

AGNOLOTTI WITH PORK RAGÙ

Steps:

• FOR FILLING: Wrap cinnamon, peppercorns and cloves in cheesecloth; secure with kitchen string. In a resealable plastic bag, combine beef, pork, wine, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, rosemary, sage and bay leaf. Press out air and seal bag; put in a bowl and marinate, refrigerated, for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. Reserving marinade, strain contents of bag through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl. Remove and discard herbs (save spices in cheesecloth). Pat dry carrot, celery and garlic with paper towels; finely chop. In a large heavy saucepan, heat oil, lardo and butter over medium heat until butter is melted; add chopped vegetables, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add marinated meat, increase heat to high and cook for 8 minutes more, then add reserved marinade and cook until liquid is mostly evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 2 1/4 cups water and reserved spices in cheesecloth; bring to a boil, then reduce to a very gentle simmer and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan salted water to a boil; add cabbage and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and finely chop; set aside. Add cabbage and sausage to filling mixture; cook for 30 minutes more, then, reserving cooking liquid, strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl; discard spices in cheesecloth. Spread solids on a large plate or baking pan and let cool to room temperature, then transfer to a bowl; add cheese, breadcrumbs, egg, salt and nutmeg, and stir to combine. Set aside filling.Make the ragu