Recipe: Adrian Richardson’s Nonna’s Pork Ragout With Potato Gnocchi

Melbourne chef and restaurateur Adrian Richardson grew up on a diet of handmade pasta, thanks to his nonna. He went on to serve variations on some of his nonna’s best dishes at his restaurants – now-closed La Luna in North Carlton, Bouvier in Brunswick East and now-closed Bos in Brisbane – including a spin on her pork ragout.

“It’s a dish I do often, because I just think it’s warm and hearty,” says Richardson. “I grew up in a very Italian house, and my nonna would make a ragout that was very similar. It almost brings a tear to my eye when I make the sauce, because that’s what Nonna would make.”

In this cherished family recipe, Richardson uses some less common pork cuts, as part of a “no waste” ethic and effort to cook as sustainably as possible. “I deal a lot with pork famers,” he says. “And farmers are able to use a lot of the by-products from pork production, like the effluent for fertiliser, which actually recycles all the ingredients that are going in. That's then used to either save money, create energy or make the land better.”

While Richardson’s version calls for handmade potato gnocchi, you can use store-bought gnocchi or pasta (he suggests rigatoni, orecchiette or ridged penne) if you prefer. If you do decide to make the gnocchi yourself, he recommends a yellow, waxy potato such as nicola, Dutch cream or sebago.

Because you’re cooking the meat for a long time, then allowing it to cool in the liquid overnight (or for several hours), this is an ideal dish to make over a leisurely weekend. “You cook it nice and low and slow,” says Richardson, “and out the other side comes this beautiful, fall-apart, tasty dish.”

You’ll end up with some leftover liquid that’s infused with pork flavour, which you can then add to the final tomato sauce. And, in the interests of sustainability, you can save any leftover pork stock to use in a miso soup or a casserole down the track.

“That’s what we do in kitchens: we use everything,” says Richardson.

Nonna’s pork ragout with potato gnocchi

Serves: 5–6
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours

Ingredients

Pork ragout

1kg pork shoulder, cut into 3–4 large pieces

3 sticks celery, roughly chopped

1 large onion, roughly chopped

2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tbsp fennel seed

6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

2 cups white wine

2 litres chicken or beef stock

2 bay leaves

Salt and pepper, to taste

Potato gnocchi

500g potatoes, washed but not peeled

125g plain flour

1 pinch Murray River salt flakes

1 free-range egg

Tomato sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

100g butter

1 onion, diced into 1cm pieces

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 sticks celery, diced into 1cm pieces

½ fennel bulb, diced into 1cm pieces

1 long red chilli, thinly sliced

1 cup picked basil leaves

2 tbsp oregano

1 cup red wine

Leftover pork stock

2 litres tomato passata

Pork shoulder, chopped

Method

For the pork ragout, place all ingredients in a large pot and make sure the pork is well covered with liquid. (Add some water if there isn’t enough stock.) Bring to the boil and turn down to a gentle simmer, skimming away any foam that comes to the surface.

When the meat is tender, turn off the heat and let the pork cool down in the liquid overnight, or at least a few hours. When you’re ready to make the ragout, remove the meat and strain the liquid. Reserve the liquid and set aside for the sauce.

For the gnocchi, place potatoes in a pot of cold water, bring to the boil and simmer until cooked – approximately 30 minutes, or until you can cut the potato easily with a knife.

Strain potatoes and peel while still hot and mash with a mouli or potato press. Add the flour, salt and egg. Mix gently until just combined and the dough is slightly springy. Divide the dough into six pieces. Roll each piece into a long cigar shape, then cut into 3cm lengths.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add gnocchi and stir gently. The gnocchi will be cooked when it floats to the top. Remove gnocchi from the pot and set aside.

For the tomato sauce, heat the butter and oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, celery, carrot, fennel and chilli, and sweat for 6–7 minutes. Add the basil and oregano and sweat for a further 2 minutes. Add the wine and leftover stock from the pork ragout. Turn up the heat until the sauce is reduced by three-quarters. Add the tomato passata and reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook the sauce for 30–40 minutes, stirring often until it becomes thick.

When the sauce is ready, add the chopped pork shoulder and stir through. Bring to a simmer and turn off. Serve with the gnocchi and your favourite glass of red wine.