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Pork Ragu with Semolina Gnocchi. (Nealey Dozier / December 12, 2012) |
With the crush of the holiday season, I can't seem to find enough hours to get through each day. Between shopping, parties and work projects, life on Monday through Saturday is hurried and I'm sprinting just to keep up. But then, just in the nick of time, there is Sunday.
I diligently set aside Sunday as a time for personal rest and relaxation. Don't expect me to brush my hair, and don't even ask why I still have mascara on my face past noon. I keep my email closed and my phone on silent, buried underneath couch pillows so it doesn't see the light of day. With life's distractions on hold, Sunday is the perfect day to dream up a kitchen project, one where I can wander in and out at my leisure, dirtying every dish along the way.
Take this ragu for example. I recently dined at a favorite Italian joint, where I enjoyed a mind-blowing dish of braised oxtails heaped over semolina gnocchi. I thought I'd enjoyed every type of gnocchi known to man, but alas, these little blobs of heaven struck a chord. Paired with the warm, fatty oxtails, it was rich and hearty enough to keep the frost at bay.
I immediately began to concoct a version of the recipe in my head. Always being fascinated with the similarities between Italian and Southern cuisine, I wanted to make a similar dish using flavors more familiar to me, while still keeping it true to its roots. I decided to make my ragu using pork shoulder and bacon (two of my favorite ingredients!), as well as cider vinegar for a bit of Southern flair.
For the gnocchi, I actually wanted to create a similar style dumpling using grits. I made two attempts, and while the results were tasty, they were far more labor intensive than I wanted for this recipe. That being said, you could dump this ragu over creamy stone-ground grits and (literally) be in hog heaven.
The beauty of this recipe is that while it takes a bit of time (two days, mostly unsupervised), it will provide you the ultimate in nourishment for a week. Make it on a Sunday and you will have a Monday night dinner to remember. Or a Tuesday and Wednesday dinner for that matter. Heck, I was still excited about it on Friday. Oh, and those dumplings? They'll be finding their way to my table again, in as many ways as I can dream up.
Pork Ragu with Semolina Gnocchi
Serves 8.
For the pork ragu:
Canola oil
4 pound bone-in pork shoulder (approximately), trimmed of excess fat
2-3 slices bacon, chopped
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
3-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
I diligently set aside Sunday as a time for personal rest and relaxation. Don't expect me to brush my hair, and don't even ask why I still have mascara on my face past noon. I keep my email closed and my phone on silent, buried underneath couch pillows so it doesn't see the light of day. With life's distractions on hold, Sunday is the perfect day to dream up a kitchen project, one where I can wander in and out at my leisure, dirtying every dish along the way.
Take this ragu for example. I recently dined at a favorite Italian joint, where I enjoyed a mind-blowing dish of braised oxtails heaped over semolina gnocchi. I thought I'd enjoyed every type of gnocchi known to man, but alas, these little blobs of heaven struck a chord. Paired with the warm, fatty oxtails, it was rich and hearty enough to keep the frost at bay.
I immediately began to concoct a version of the recipe in my head. Always being fascinated with the similarities between Italian and Southern cuisine, I wanted to make a similar dish using flavors more familiar to me, while still keeping it true to its roots. I decided to make my ragu using pork shoulder and bacon (two of my favorite ingredients!), as well as cider vinegar for a bit of Southern flair.
For the gnocchi, I actually wanted to create a similar style dumpling using grits. I made two attempts, and while the results were tasty, they were far more labor intensive than I wanted for this recipe. That being said, you could dump this ragu over creamy stone-ground grits and (literally) be in hog heaven.
The beauty of this recipe is that while it takes a bit of time (two days, mostly unsupervised), it will provide you the ultimate in nourishment for a week. Make it on a Sunday and you will have a Monday night dinner to remember. Or a Tuesday and Wednesday dinner for that matter. Heck, I was still excited about it on Friday. Oh, and those dumplings? They'll be finding their way to my table again, in as many ways as I can dream up.
Pork Ragu with Semolina Gnocchi
Serves 8.
For the pork ragu:
Canola oil
4 pound bone-in pork shoulder (approximately), trimmed of excess fat
2-3 slices bacon, chopped
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
3-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
