Tuscan Pork Ragu with White Beans
This absolutely delicious rosemary-scented Tuscan-style shredded pork ragu slow-cooks with until the meat is super-tender enough to eat with a spoon. Add creamy white cannellini beans , and enjoy it with pasta or bread to capture all the saucy bits!
Ingredients
- 3 pounds (1.35 kg) boneless pork shoulder trimmed of excess fat
- Kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow or white onion chopped
- ½ cup (125 ml) dry white wine such as pinot grigio
- 2 teaspoons paprika sweet or smoked
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) tomato paste
- 1 28-ounce can (800 g) crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups (500 ml) chicken broth
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 head garlic trimmed of excess papery skin and halved crosswise
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 14-ounce can cannellini or navy beans drained
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 450 (225C) degrees.
- Cut the pork into 4-inch chunks and season it all over with the 1 tablespoon of the kosher salt.
- Put the pork on a rimmed baking sheet and put in the oven. Roast for 20 minutes to sear and render some of the fat. Remove from the oven and reduce temperature to 325 (160C) degrees.
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened and lightly golden. Add the paprika, fennel, crushed red pepper and tomato paste. Cook about 1 minute.
- Pour in the wine and let it bubble for 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, broth, black pepper, garlic, rosemary, and 1½ teaspoons salt, giving everything a stir. Nestle the reserved pork into the pot and cover the pan.
- Place the pot in the oven and cook 3-3 1/2 hours. The meat should be very tender when prodded with a fork. Remove the meat to a plate and shred it with a fork. Skim off excess fat from the sauce, then stir in the meat along with the beans.
- Serve the saucy pork and beans over cooked pasta or with warm crusty bread.
Notes
- To make this recipe in your electric slow cooker: Soften the onions until softened, and then sear the pork as directed. Add the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- Instant pot/pressure cooker: Sear the meat in the oven as directed. Proceed with step 4, using the cooker's insert to cook the onions and aromatics instead of a Dutch oven. Reduce the amount of broth to 1 cup. Cook on high (or use the Stew function) for 50 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 392kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 52gFat: 15gSodium: 464mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2g
