Nothing says winter like a hearty, warming pasta. This ragu with olives and pecorino is filled with tasty herbs along with succulent Australian pork neck.
Serving up at just $5.80 per plate, it’s ideal for a quick yet delicious lunch option and also proves itself as a hearty dinner menu feature.
Ingredients (serves 10)
- 700g boneless pork neck
- 50mls olive oil
- 120g onion
- 2 stalks celery
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 100ml white wine
- 2L chicken stock
- 2 bunches Swiss chard
- 250g pecorino
- 100g crushed pitted kalamata olives
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 40mls extra virgin olive oil
- 1kg pappardelle
Method: Ragu
- Dice pork into 3cm pieces.
- Heat a medium sized pot, add oil and sear pork until well-coloured all over. Remove from pan then add finely chopped onion, celery and herbs.
- Pour in white wine and reduce by a third before returning pork to pot together with chicken stock. Bring to the boil.
- Cover pot with a lid and allow to simmer for approximately 2.5 hours on low heat until very tender, stirring occasionally as to not stick to base of pot. Season.
- Separate stems and leaves from bunches of Swiss chard. Finely chop then blanch until just tender. Squeeze and set aside.
Method: Pappardelle
- Salt a large pan of water (7g of salt per 1L water), bring to the boil.
- Add pasta and cook until al dente.
To serve
- When pasta is ready, drain (reserving one cup of pasta water) and add to ragu. Toss together for a minute then add Swiss chard along with half the grated pecorino, crushed olives and finely chopped rosemary. If sauce looks a little dry add a little reserved pasta water. Season well.
- Toss with olive oil and serve garnished with remaining grated pecorino. Serve immediately.
