I made this recipe for Slow Cooker Pork Ragù earlier this winter and my husband raved about it so much that I knew I had to make it again. I served it with fresh linguine and I highly recommend serving the pork ragù with fresh pasta if it’s available at your grocery store (or I suppose you could make it yourself as well, but I have not been that ambitious on the culinary frontier yet.) I usually make pulled pork when I use the slow cooker to cook up a pork shoulder or butt. This pasta dish definitely puts a new spin on the usual pork dishes.
The pork ragù can be prepped in less than ten minutes. If you don’t have time in the morning to pull this together, you could also prep everything the night before and just put the slow cooker insert with all the ingredients right in the fridge. In the morning, just pop the insert into the slow cooker and set your timer for the day. I love coming home to the aroma of dinner already cooked!
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder or butt, trimmed
- 1 pound linguine (use fresh pasta, if available)
- grated Parmesan, for serving
- Add the carrot, onion, garlic, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, thyme, oregano, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper to a slow cooker and mix together. Add the trimmed pork and give everything another few stirs.
- Cover and on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 5 to 6 hours.
- Cook the linguine according to the package directions (fresh pasta usually only takes a couple of minutes to cook.) Meanwhile, shred the pork and stir in the shredded pieces with the rest of the vegetables and cooking liquid. Drain the pasta and add it to the ragù. Stir to combine. Serve with grated Parmesan if desired.
Source: Slightly adapted from Real Simple, January 2013
