Pork Cheek Ragu

Ingredients

• tablespoon of olive oil
• 3 rashers of good  bacon
• 8 pork cheeks
• 1 fennel
• 1 onion
• 1 large carrot
• 3 cloves garlic
• 150ml milk
• 200ml white wine
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 Oxo cubes
• 1 pint water
• dried oregano
• dried marjoram
• salt and black pepper

 

Method

1. Heat up olive oil in a frying pan, fry off the bacon till quite well done, remove from pan and put to one side.
2. To the same pan add the pork cheeks and cook on a high heat till they are browned, remove from pan and put to one side.
3. In a different pan add little more olive oil then add the chopped onion, chopped fennel and chopped carrot and cook down
4. Meanwhile  deglaze the mean pan with the wine and allow to reduce by half.  Turn the heat off.
5. Back to the carrot/onion/fennel mix, pour in the milk and reduce down by 2/3rds.  Add into that the bacon and the pork cheeks, the herbs, seasoning, and then the wine reduction.
6. Stir well then add the Oxo cubes and the tomatoes and the water and simmer for at least 2hrs adding more water when needed. The meat should be easily pulled apart with a fork when cooked.

Makes about 4-5 portions.

Great with homemade pasta

Pasta = 600g “OO” Grade flour and 6 eggs or 12 yolks.  Knead and stretch till it feels silky.  Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 20mins.  Roll out using rolling pin or pasta making machine.

 

Cook in boiling salted water for 2 mins maximum.