Today is Wednesday so that means this is my day to be unplugged and cooking…hard to believe next week is Thanksgiving already!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all." ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
I came upon the basics for this recipe in the October issue of Food & Wine magazine. Their recipe called for orecchiette pasta, which I didn't find, so I substituted farfalle which worked well. 
It also called for celery, which my family doesn't like so I omitted that and added Beau Monde seasoning instead to add some of the flavor. I erred on the plus side of most seasonings and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Found I ended up with a little too much liquid for my taste so spooned a bit off before baking. The recipe says it serves 8 and fits in one big baking dish…I needed two baking dishes! It yielded lots of leftovers, which I liked even better than eating it fresh out of the oven…maybe the flavors had more time to blend. FYI…sugo is a gravy or sauce in Italian cuisine.
BAKED FARFALLE WITH PORK SUGO
- 3 1/4 pounds boneless pork shoulder or loin, cut into 1-inch pieces
- Freshly ground salt & pepper
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 large carrots, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 1 large sweet onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 4 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
- One 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups dry red wine
- 4 thyme sprigs
- 5 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Beau Monde seasoning
- 1 1/2 pounds farfalle pasta
- 2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (7 ounces)
Season the pork with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron casserole or dutch oven. Add the pork and cook until the pieces are golden brown all over, about 12 minutes. Add the carrots, onion and garlic and cook until softened and browned in spots, about 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices and bring to a simmer. Add the red wine and thyme sprigs and cook over high heat until the wine is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat until the pork is very tender and liquid is reduced, about 2 hours.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pork and vegetables to a food processor; discard the thyme sprigs. Pulse just until the pork is shredded. Scrape the shredded pork and vegetables back into the casserole/dutch oven. Stir in the chopped parsley, oregano, crushed red pepper, and beau monde. Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cook farfalle according to package directions for al dente; add to pork sauce and toss. Scrape into a very large baking dish and sprinkle all over with the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bake in the upper third of the oven for about 35 minutes, until golden brown on top and bubbling. Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.
