Pork & Fennel Ragu
Prep: 5 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 35 mins
Serves: 4 Adults
DESCRIPTION
A perfect pasta dish, full of rich, tasty flavours. A proper hearty meal.
A great recipe for batch cooking and freezing. This recipe can easily be made in a slow cooker too, making life even easier for busy families to get a meal on the table. See notes below.
INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp olive oil
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and finely chopped
½ red onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 heaped tbsp fennel seeds
400g good quality pork mince
500ml passata
400g rigatoni
100g grated parmesan plus extra for serving
METHOD
1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and chopped fresh fennel and cook for 10 minutes until the fennel and onion have softened.
2. Add the garlic and fennel seeds and fry for 1 minute until the fennel seeds are aromatic and beginning to toast.
3. Stir in the pork mince, breaking up with a wooden spoon and cook until lightly browned. Stir in the passata and parmesan, then simmer for 20-30 minutes until the sauce has slightly thickened and reduced. The longer you cook this the better!*
4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to packet instructions and drain.
5. Pour the sauce into the pot of pasta and stir to combine.
6. Serve with some freshly ground black pepper and grated parmesan cheese on top.
NOTES:
Suitable for freezing & batch cooking
Slow Cooker: Do steps 1-3 quicker then above as no need to soften the fennel for as long. After step 3, put all in the slow cooker on low for 4-5 hours.
