Pork Ragu Bianco
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
1 tsp ground marjoram
1 tsp ground nutmeg
sea salt & black pepper
500g pork mince (5% fat)
75g plain flour, for dusting
2 tbsp olive oil
For the breadcrumbs:
20g unsalted butter
40g panko breadcrumbs
½ lemon zest
½ orange zest
10g fresh parsley, chopped
20g Parmesan, grated
sea salt & black pepper
For the sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, peeled, finely diced
2 celery sticks, finely diced
1 carrot, peeled, finely diced
2 bay leaves
4 thyme sprigs
zest of ½ orange
zest of ½ lemon
4 garlic cloves, peeled, finely chopped
150ml white wine
100ml chicken stock
50g Parmesan
For the pasta:
500g conchiglie pasta
1 tsp salt
1 small bunch parsley, chopped
Method
To make the meatballs...
Combine the marjoram and nutmeg in a mixing bowl, season with a pinch of salt and freshly cracked black pepper, add the mince and mix well. Shape the mixture into small 3cm bite-sized balls and dust in the flour. Heat a frying pan on a medium to high heat with the olive oil and fry the meatballs on a high heat for 4 minutes, turning every minute until golden on the outside, then remove from the heat and place the meatballs in a tray lined with kitchen towel.
To fry the breadcrumbs...
Place the butter into a frying pan and melt on a medium heat. When foaming add the panko and fry gently, stirring continuously until lightly golden. Transfer to a bowl then mix in the rest of the ingredients, season with a pinch of salt and freshly cracked black pepper and set aside.
To make the sauce...
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. Sweat the shallot, celery and carrot. Add the bay leaves, thyme, orange and lemon zest and cook for another 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Then add the wine and stock and reduce by three-quarters until thickened. Grate in the Parmesan, then add the meatballs back to the pan and coat well with the sauce.
For the pasta...
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water for 10 minutes until just cooked.
To serve...
Drain the pasta, and add it to the meatballs and sauce. Serve piping hot, garnished with the breadcrumbs and the freshly chopped parsley.