Recipes

Pasta alla genovese, slow cooked pork with white onions, pecorino and lemon rind

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Ingredients

Sauce

  • •
    500g pork shanks

  • •
    2-3 pork ribs
  • •
    100g delicate extra virgin olive oil
  • •
    1 tablespoon lard
  • •
    1 cup dry white wine
  • •
    1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • •
    3 bay leaves – thinly sliced
  • •
    3kg white onions
  • •
    120g whole milk
  • •
    Salt to taste

Pork rind roll

  • •
    1 full sheet pork rind from a loin
  • •
    1 clove of garlic, sliced

  • •
    7-8 leaves of flat parsley
  • •
    1 tablespoon grated pecorino cheese
  • •
    Salt, enough to cover the pork rind

  • •
    Freshly ground black pepper, enough to cover the pork rind

Gnocchi

  • •
    1kg large Desiree potatoes
  • •
    300g strong plain flour
  • •
    1 egg yolk
  • •
    1 cup rock salt

To serve

  • •
    Grated pecorino cheese
  • •
    Grated parmigiano
  • •
    Lemon zest
  • •
    Salt and pepper for seasoning

Method

  1. 1.
    Sauce: In a large saucepan heat the oil and lard, brown the pork shanks and ribs. Deglaze with the wine over high heat, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat to medium and add the tomato paste and bay leaves. Cook for a few minutes to lightly toast the tomato paste. Add the onions and the milk. (Add the pork rind roll as per below to boost flavour) Stir until everything is mixed together. Cover with foil and cook on low heat until the onions no longer release any liquid. Lower to a simmer and cook until the mixture becomes a thick sauce and the color becomes amber, 4-5 hours. Remove the meat and slice/shred. Add back to the sauce.
  2. 2.
    Pork rind roll: Stretch out the slab of pork rind. Sprinkle the slab with the garlic, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper. Roll up and tie with twine
  3. 3.
    Gnocchi: Place potatoes on a roasting tray with rock salt on the base, roast for 1 hour at 180°C. Once cooked take out and peel the skin off and Pass the cooked potatoes through a food mill or potato ricer. Turn out the cooked potato mixture onto a lightly floured surface, and add about half of the flour and egg. Knead until you have a sticky mass and keep adding flour a little at a time until the dough is smooth. You won't necessarily use the whole amount of flour. Cut the dough into smaller sections, and roll each piece into a long cylinder about 10 to 15mm in diameter. Then cut each cylinder into individual pieces about 20 – 25mm in length. Fill a large pot with water and generously salt the water with a good handful of Kosher salt. The water should taste like seawater. Bring the water to a boil. Meanwhile, shape the gnocchi by pressing each piece between your thumb and the tines of a fork, using a slight rolling motion. One side of the gnocchi should have the imprint of the fork and the other side a small indentation from your thumb. When the water comes to a boil, drop the gnocchi into the water. In about two minutes, the gnocchi will float to the surface of the water. Let them cook about fifteen seconds more and then skim them out with a slotted spoon.
  4. 4.
    To serve: Add cooked gnocchi to sauce. Season a little with salt and pepper and serve with grated parmigiano, pecorino and lemon zest.