Pork Ragu
Tonight we made our version of The Defined Dish’s “Lamb Ragu.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t find lamb anywhere, so we went with pork. Also, we ended up using Tortiglioni pasta instead of Riggatoni, and let me tell you…it turned out SO SO GOOD.
We chopped up all of our veggies (carrots, onions, and garlic) beforehand which made pre-work super minimal.
Letting the meat sit in the sauce for about an hour was a game changer. It allowed the meat to get super tender so that it just fell apart . The pork also added a really interesting and delicious flavor to the sauce. It was very different from the typical ground beef red sauce I am used to making, and it was definitely a flavor upgrade. When it comes to pasta, I believe in eating a little pasta with my sauce, and this did not disappoint. Give me a bowl and a spoon, and I could honestly just eat this sauce by itself.
As for the wine, we tasted it before we ate and then had more with the meal. Adding food to this Chianti made a huge difference! When we were just sipping it, I wasn’t a huge fan. We tasted a lot of tart, dark fruit flavors like cherry, blackberry, cranberry, and licorice. In my opinion, it was a little too tart and heavy for a casual sipping wine. However, paired with the rich, flavorful red sauce and pasta, the wine was totally different. The sauce completely smoothed out the tart flavors in the wine, and it made a great pairing!
This dish was a huge confidence boost for me. Homemade red sauce has always intimidated me, so I always just resorted to buying a jar from the store. After making this, I truly realized the quality and flavor differences between the jarred stuff and the real deal. I feel like I now have a great basis for how to make homemade pasta sauce and will definitely be making it again!
COMING UP…
Next week we will be making Samin Nosrat’s buttermilk roast chicken that she makes in her documentary “Salt Fat Acid Heat.” If you haven’t watched the show on Netflix, GO WATCH IT (I’ll even drop the link here). It is incredibly interesting, and it does an amazing job explaining some of the critical elements of cooking. Samin Nostrat also has a best selling cookbook that is definitely on my wishlist. Anyways, I can’t wait to try out this super simple roast chicken recipe.
Here is what we need:
-Salt
-Whole chicken
-16 oz. buttermilk
That’s it, so simple! Just make sure you have a large ziplock bag and give yourself a day to marinate the chicken before you cook it.
We will be making the chicken with sautéed brussels sprouts and rosemary potatoes. Honestly, I am just going to wing it with these, not necessarily going to follow a recipe.
If you want to make the sides along with us, here is what you need:
Brussels sprouts
Avocado or grapeseed oil
1 lemon
Freshly grated parmesan (optional)
Potatoes (I chose mini gold potatoes)
Fresh rosemary
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Power
Onion Powder
Last but not least, with will be pairing the meal with this $17 2017 River Road Chardonnay. I can’t wait to try it with all of you!
