Paula McIntyre's Rare Breed Pork Ragu with Gnudie
This recipe takes time but is well worth it. Start the ricotta process the night before – either make your own, or drain excess liquid out of shop bought ricotta, full details below. The Ragu requires long, slow cooking, either in a low oven or, as I did, in my Slow Cooker. If making your own ricotta the left-over whey can be used in a variety of ways, by replacing the liquid element in soda bread or scones, or to make a light soup or sauce instead of whole milk.
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
- 500 g ricotta (see below)
- 250 g 00 flour or strong bread flour (see below)
- 2 egg yolks
- S&P
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- 500 g pork mince
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 stick celery finely chopped
- 1 carrot finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped
- 500 g passata
- 100 ml red wine
- 1 tsp Italian mixed herbs
- Parmesan grated
- 2 l full fat milk
- 40 ml white distilled vinegar
- large pinch of salt
Instructions
Ricotta
- Bring the milk and salt to just below boiling point.
- Remove from heat and add the vinegar. Stir for 2 minutes, the curds and whey will form and separate.
- Allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- Line a sieve with cloth and pour in the curds and whey.
- Leave to drain overnight.
- If using shop-bought ricotta, put into a cloth lined sieve and allow excess liquid to drain overnight.
Pork Ragu
- Gently fry the onion, celery, carrot and garlic in the olive oil, until golden and softened.
- Add pork mince and fry gently until browned.
- Add the remaining ingredients, except the Parmesan, stir well and bring to the boil.
- Cover tightly and allow to cook in a low oven for 3-4 hours (or longer), or transfer to a Slow Cooker.
Gnudie
- Weigh the ricotta that has been draining overnight and add in just under half of its weight in flour. I got 483g of ricotta from my 2l of milk.
- Add the egg yolks and salt and pepper. Mix well to form a dough, adding more flour if needed.
- When the dough has formed, roll it into a sausage on a floured board and cut into very large bite-sized pieces. At this point the Gnudie can be frozen for later use – put on a tray lined with greaseproof paper, so they are not touching each other. Put in freezer until frozen. They can then be put in freezer bags and cooked directly from frozen.
- To cook the Gnudie, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.
- Drop in the Gnudie and when they rise to the top they're done!
- Remove with a slotted spoon and serve on top of the Ragu with grated parmesan.