Pork ragu with fennel, lemon, pecorino romano and pappardelle

I had been thinking about tackling this recipe for several weeks. Tonight was the night. I bought a much larger pork butt than the recipe required at Major Market, reserving the excess for carnitas. 

Pretty much did it per the instructions although I did not add pasta water to the sauce in the end as called for because the dish seemed quite liquid enough. 

Put a whole fennel bulb in the sofrito with twice the garlic as called for, our standard. 

I used four ounces of pancetta, I think we could decrease that somewhat, it was a bit salty and we had to omit salt later to balance.

I braised the pork for 90 minutes at 350 degrees. Let it cool. Shredding was a two fork job.

Because of its size I should have used more liquid and added a little more time as the non submerged pieces were drier than their underwater compatriots.

It was a lovely sauce, the fennel and lemon aromas magnificent and intoxicating. We did put fresh parmigiana on top as a kicker. Sprinkled chopped fennel fronds for some added spice.

We don't eat a lot of pork, pecorino or egg noodles in our house but this was wonderful. The smell of this dinner was just beyond. I love these rich noodles too. Mix and melt the cheese in at the end and you have magic.

We will do this again. Next time I will probably add crimini mushrooms for a little extra unami. Might tinker a little but love the concept. Have plenty of leftovers for later.