Slow-Briased Pulled Pork Pasta with Oven Roasted Truss Tomatoes

I have come across a lot of excellent pulled pork recipes and I absolutely love pulled pork sandwich for lunch. A few weeks ago, I had this thought, "Why don't I cook a pulled pork dish for dinner, with pasta, instead of bread roll?"

I went on to research for pulled pork recipe and landed on a kid (young goat) ragu recipe by Curtis Stone. I did some changes such as using white wine instead of red, replacing orange juice and zest with cider vinegar. It has resulted in a meltingly tender moist pulled pork with flavoursome stock to be soaked up by the pasta. The sweet and juicy oven roasted truss tomatoes are the only component you need to round up this terrific dinner dish.

I was a little disappointed with the photos. This dish was served and photographed on a cold and dark winter evening but it's such a wonderful dish that I want to share with all of you.

Slow-Braised Pulled Pork Pasta with Oven Roasted Truss Tomatoes Recipe
(Inspired from Fresh Taliatelle with Ragu of Kid by Curtis Stone in Surfing The Menu Again)
Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1.4 kg pork shoulder, bone in
4 shallots (eschalots), roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 celery stick, roughly chopped
250 ml / 9 fl oz white wine
1 L / 1 3/4 pints chicken / veal / pork stock
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 sprigs of thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
3 bay leaves
10 sage leaves, chopped
12 small truss tomatoes
400 g / 14 oz linguine / fettuccine / tagliatelle
2 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley
120 g / 4 1/4 oz aged pecorino, shaved

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150C / 300 F.
2. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish and brown the pork shoulder on all sides over medium heat. Remove the pork shoulder and add the shallots, garlic, carrot and celery and sweat until light brown. Return the pork shoulder to the casserole dish and deglaze with the red wine. Add the stock, cider vinegar, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves. Cover and place in the oven for 2 1/2 - 3 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
   

   

3. Using your hands, pick all the meat from the bone, discarding any fat and sinew. Strain the vegetables and bones from the stock. Combine the stock with the meat and add the sage. If you prefer a thick sauce, you can stir in some cream at this stage to thicken the sauce.
4. Increase the heat of the oven to 200C / 400F and roast the tomatoes (stems still attached), on a baking tray for 5-10 minutes until soft and the skins split. Remove and set aside.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Transfer the pasta to a large warmed bowl and toss through the extra virgin olive oil, parsley and meat. Serve in warm pasta bowls and garnish with the pecorino and tomatoes.