Dateline: March 16, 2021 Pork Ragu Maiallino

 I have been obsessed with no tomato pork ragus lately.  I have been wanting to try Maiallino's version for a long time, so what the heck.

I had some pork shoulder in the freezer and pulled it out to thaw a bit so I could cut out most of the fat on the surface and any pockets hiding within.  I cut each piece that I had into thirds, about the size of the shreds that I wanted at the end of the cooking.

Essentially, the pork is braised in a flavorful liquid until tender, then shredded while the liquid is by half.  There will be a lot of liquid, even after reducing, save about 1.5 - 2 cups for another purpose. Enrich with butter, yup, butter.  Oh boy oh boy did it add something fabulous to the sauce.  Throw in a half handful of grated parm, some dandelion greens (recipe called for rocket, did not have but did have dandelion greens), and parsley.  Slide in the shredded pork, and start the pasta water boiling.  

There are no tomatoes and NO Garlic in the sauce.  It is delightful  The suggested pasta is broken lasagna sheets, but I went with calamari pasta rings.  Many broke open so end result was with some wide strips of pasta.

What I would do differently, I would use more stock, I would shred the pork finer and thinner pieces.  Don't get me wrong it was delicious, but less elegant than I would have wanted.  Don't forget to use the lemon juice, it helps cut the richness of the sauce.  Pass the cheese and everything will be very quiet.