Home cooking with the chefs of Commerce Café

This month’s chef is Nathan Lemley:

Chef-Owner at Foreign & Domestic and Commerce Café; Triumph Enthusiast; Austin Culture Map Chef of the year 2021

Having friends over for dinner shouldn’t be a huge hassle. It’s great to have the bulk of the work finished before guests arrive to allow you to enjoy your company. I love this recipe because the cleanup is minimal, and everyone loves pasta!

Pork Ragout

3 lb. pork shoulder, cubed into 2 in pieces

¼ cup of neutral oil, this can be canola, vegetable, or sunflower, etc.

1 head garlic, peeled & sliced thin

1 large onion, cut into medium dices

1 pint red wine, cheap is fine

1 pint chicken stock

1 large can whole peeled tomatoes, hand crushed with juice

½ of a small can of tomato paste

1 TBS Red chili flake

Black pepper to taste

Salt to taste

1 Bay leaf

Pecorino

* Heat a Dutch oven or large pot on medium heat

* Add ¼ cup neutral oil

* Add pork to the pot a little at a time, being careful to not overcrowd the pot, searing on each side of the cube and removing from the pot once it’s been seared

* Once the meat is seared and removed from the pot,

* Add onions to the pot and sweat until the onions are somewhat translucent

* Add garlic to the onions and cook for a few minutes on medium while stirring

* Add tomato paste to the pot and cook while stirring until the tomato paste is fragrant

* Add red wine and reduce until it becomes syrupy

* Add crushed tomatoes, bay leaf, and a pinch of salt and pepper, stew for 5 minutes on low

* Add pork & chicken stock to the pot and put the pot, partially covered in the oven at 350, you can use the lid or foil for this.

* Cook for two hours, and move the pot back to the burner.

* Taste the pasta and add salt and pepper as needed

I like to use rigatoni for the pasta, but you can use almost any pasta shape for this recipe, just make sure to salt your water before you follow the instructions on the box.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain the pasta and add it to the pot of sauce on the stove top. Turn the burner on medium and stir pasta in, cooking on medium for 2-3 minutes.

Top with pecorino & serve.

I love to serve this meal with garlic bread and Caesar salad. Enjoy!