53 Pork ragu bianco Paul Robinson

Pork Ragu Bianco

PREP: 25 minutes COOK: 15-20 minutes
4 people

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.