Garganelli with Fennel and Pork Shoulder Ragu

Anticipation for this dish was high based on its mouth-watering aroma during cooking but it was quite a let down in the end.

The ground pork is simmered for hours in white wine, chopped tomatoes and chicken stock after first being formed into large meatballs, browned and cooked with (lots of) minced fennel and onion. The meatballs are broken down into smaller pieces just before serving. I suppose if it’s important to you to have different textures of meat in your sauce, soft, moist pieces from the meatball interior and crispy, chewy bits that are browned, then this technique makes sense. I would have been quite happy either leaving the meatballs intact or not forming them at all and just browning the ground meat at the start as you would for a slow-cooked Bolognese.

The major disappointment involved the seasoning: even though I used less salt than the recipe called for in the meatball mix, salt-free tomatoes and low-sodium stock (as per the recipe), the ragù was extremely salty. I was glad that it was a little thick towards the end …I added water instead of more stock.

The combination of ingredients worked: the pork had that deep, rich flavour that comes with slow cooking and the sauce was a meaty gravy that tasted only mildly of fennel and tomatoes…if it weren’t for the salt, I would have given it an extra star.

I served it with (whole wheat) penne.