PORK RAGU WITH FETTUCCINI

This is inspired from a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated Fall Harvest Nov 2020. It was close to one we do with American bacon or prosciutto, and were intrigued by this one using pancetta. Come to find out the milk or cream in our recipe curdles because we didn’t use the naturally cured meat of the pancetta which denatures the casein of the dairy so it doesn’t curdle.

Ingredients
4 oz. pancetta, chopped
1 large onion chopped fine
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 medium fennel bulb, chopped fine
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon Flavors of Tuscany (thyme, marjoram, Aleppo pepper, basil, etc)
1 Tablespoon of salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/3 cup heavy cream or whole milk
1 1/2 -2 pounds boneless pork but roast (from the shoulder–don’t ask!)
1 pound fettuccine, cooked al dente (chewable)
2 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese about 1 cup, and extra for serving, if desired

Preheat oven; adjust oven rack to middle position.
1. Cook pancetta and cup of water in a Dutch oven over medium high heat, stirring until water has evaporated and  dark “fond” forms on bottom of the pot, about 8-10 minutes. Add onion, fennel, carrot, about 5-7 minutes, then stir in garlic, salt, pepper, and other seasonings. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Stir in cream and 2 cups water, scraping up any browned bits.  Add pork and bring to boil over high heat. Cover the Dutch oven and transfer it to preheated oven for about 1 1/2 hours or to a temperature in the largest piece of pork is 204 ºF.
3. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to skim off the fat. With gloved hands, clean the pork of the connective tissue that doesn’t break down and discard. Using 2 forks, pull the pork apart into bite size pieces.  Serve with plenty of pulled pork and jus over al dente pasta with cheese and a lightly dressed salad of arugula.
4. We also served a lightly dressed apple slaw with maple balsamic on top of the bowl of pasta and pork ragu to be a tart counter point to the richness of the dish. May be served on the side.