Pork Ragu with Pasta

Last winter, after I received my pasta maker, I made almost every kind of sauce or ragu to pair with pasta.  The best thing about ragu is it cooks very slowly, allowing the meat to fall apart, turning out super tender.  I also like to cook down the sauce, so that it is thick and covers the pasta perfectly.  Now that I have made you hungry, I guess I should give you the recipe......

Ingredients;
Sauce -
3-4 lb boneless pork shoulder
1 onion, minced
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, peeling and cut in half
4 cloves of garlic
1 cup of white wine
1 28oz can of stewed tomatoes
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 bay leafs
4-5 sprigs of thyme
1 sage leaf
1 tsp dried rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Parmesan Romano cheese to grate on top

Pasta -
The recipe for fresh pasta is HERE

Salt and pepper the pork shoulder.  Trim excess fat from the meat.  Chop the vegetables and set aside.

 Place 1 tablespoon olive oil in the bottom of the pan, turn on high heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the pork in the pan.  Sear each side of the meat, remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the garlic, onions, celery into the pan.  Saute for about 5-7 minutes, until they are tender and the onions are opaque.

Add the wine into the pan, and let the wine simmer until it's almost all cooked down.  Add the meat back into the pan.

Add the whole tomatoes, crushed tomatoes and herbs.

Bring the sauce to a boil, and turn down on low heat.  Simmer for about 1-2 hours.  Once the meat is getting tender, start to shred the meat into the sauce.

 Remove the carrots and the bay leaf.  Add the Worcestershire sauce as well as the salt and pepper to taste.  Turn the heat up to medium, and simmer down until the sauce is thicker, about 30 minutes.

Boil the pasta, strain and place in a large pot.  Add the sauce into the pot and stir.  Divide up into bowls, grate Parmesan Romano on top.  Serve immediately.

Thyme 2 taste...