Calabrese Pork Ragu

Here’s another one Grandma made for my Calabrese grandfather – Calabrese Pork Ragu. It doesn’t take too long to prepare but there’s three hours of simmering so plan ahead. It’s so thick and meaty you can almost eat it as a stew without the pasta.

Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat and add the sausage. Break it up and brown it. Add the pork, mix and brown it.

While the meat is browning, finely chop onion, carrot, celery, garlic and ¼ cup of the parsley.

When the meat is done remove it, leaving the liquid in the pot.

Add the vegetable mixture to the pot with the oregano and red pepper flakes and cook for a few minutes until most of the liquid evaporates.

Add the tomato paste and wine. Cook, deglazing the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, 6-8 minutes.

Add the browned meat, crushed tomatoes, and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours, adding more water as needed to keep meat covered with the sauce. Check for seasoning.

Cook pasta reserving 2 cups pasta cooking liquid.

Add pasta and 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid to sauce; stir to coat. Stir in the remaining 1/4 cup parsley. Stir, adding more pasta cooking liquid as needed. Serve with grated cheese.

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Robert Iulo – Writing Site  and  Yelp