Pipe Rigate & Peas with a Smoky Marinara Sauce

Smoky Marinara Sauce (with smoked pork shank)

A rich and smoky, Sunday sauce to fragrance the entire house and warm the soul. It must simmer for a couple hours to render that smoked, pork shank so its falling-off-the-bone tender. But, go grab a piece of crusty, bread and dunk it before Nonna sees you!

INGREDIENTS:

Sauce with smoked pork shank (braised-tender)

3- 28 ounce cans of San Marzano plum tomatoes

1 smoked pork shank

8 cloves of garlic (pushed through garlic press)
3-4 tablespoons of tomato paste

1/2 cup of heavy cream

1 cup of Dry Cooking Sherry (not Cream)

5-6 hot cherry peppers (roughly chopped) (optional)

2-3 tablespoons of olive oil (not EV)

2 tablespoons of dried basil

7-8 fresh basil leaves (torn)

1 teaspoon of kosher sea salt

1/2 teaspoon of cracked black pepper

Parmigiano Reggiano grated cheese for garnish

PREPARATION:

Coat a large, cast iron,( or heavy bottom Dutch oven,) on low heat with the olive oil and add garlic. Make sure the heat is low, so the garlic does not brown.  This step allows the garlic to infuse the olive oil. Add the smoked, pork shank to the garlic oil and heat for about 5 minutes.

 Add the whole tomatoes (with juices). Turn heat up to medium-high. stir in the tomato paste, chopped hot cherry peppers, dried basil, salt & pepper, and dry Sherry.  Stir thoroughly, cover and allow to simmer on medium heat for at least an hour.  At this point, the sauce already  has a smokiness  imparted from the shank.

After one hour, remove the smoked pork shank with a slotted spoon, and set aside on a cutting board (you will return this to the sauce).  Turn the heat down to low, and with a potato masher, while the pot is still on the heat, smash the whole tomatoes. You may leave some pieces a bit large, if you like. It depends on how chunky you like your sauce.  Also, you may use a "stick blender," if you have one of those.  I do, but I used a potato masher anyway.

At this point, I returned the pork shank to the sauce, because I wanted to render the meat on the shank so tender that it falls off the bone. You may leave it out if you like. Cook the shank in the sauce until it is very tender, then remoeved it from the sauce, once again, to pull the pieces off the bone. Shred the smoked pork pieces and added them back to the sauce. 

Add the heavy cream, torn basil leaves, and about  1/4 cup of Parmigiano Reggiano grated cheese. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Skim off any excess oil on the top of the sauce that may have rendered from the pork shank. 

COOK'S NOTE:  * DO NOT add grated cheese to the sauce until the very end, or it will stick to the bottom of the pot. And, whatever you do, please, no not add sugar to this sauce! The sweetness of the Sherry Wine is the perfect lover for the plum tomatoes. They make magic together! Sugar would only contaminate this sauce*

Sausage & Gorgonzola Arancini

Arancini, (literally, means "little oranges," in Italian, for their shape) harkens back to the old street markets of Sicily, as the "fritto guy" would dole out newspaper cones filled with addictive, little, fried treats.

Italians have so many ways of using leftovers. Day-old risotto is a leftover’s dearest companion, as it is the best way to make arancini.  Traditionally, arancini are made with leftover risotto, and are meant to have a center-filling of either ground beef and peas, or simply a mozzarella center. But, I wanted the sausage to really shine by mixing sweet Italian sausage crumbles throughout the entire gorgonzola risotto mixture. The creaminess of the gorgonzola cheese is a nice counterpoint to the hearty sausage laced throughout.

The addition of the grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, breadcrumbs, and one beaten egg, will firm the mixture enough to shape into little, tennis ball-sized rice balls, and ready to fry in canola or pomace oil. The panko breadcrumbs and crushed, smoked almond coating results in an intensely flavorful and earthy crunch.

 I once made a five-course meal for friends, and these arancini were the star of the show! If you can make a simple, gorgonzola risotto, and add sausage, then you can replicate these little guys at home, like I did!

 

Ingredients for the Risotto:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cups uncooked Arborio rice
• 6 cups chicken broth
• ½ cup of  Pino Grigio
• ¾  cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
• 4  beaten eggs (2 for risotto + 2 for breading)
• 1 ½  cups of browned Italian sausage
• 2 cups of panko breadcrumbs
• 3 cups of canola oil for frying

How to Make the Risotto:

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add chopped onion and cook until soft.
3. Add the 2 cups of rice all at once, add the wine, stir and simmer for a few minutes.
4. Add the broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring the rice until the broth has been absorbed between each addition.
5. In large sauté pan on medium heat, brown the sausage and transfer to a paper towel- lined plate.
6. Once the risotto is cooked and creamy, remove from heat, add the gorgonzola cheese and stir to incorporate.
7. Transfer the risotto to a large bowl, add the sausage to rice, add the beaten eggs, and mix well.
8. Allow mixture to cool.
9. Refrigerate until ready to use. Cold risotto will be easier to handle when shaping the arancini     
   
   
    To shape the Arancini, you'll need: 
   
   
   Ingredients: 
   2 egg, beaten 
   2 cups panko breadcrumbs ( or more) 
   1 cup of smoked almonds (crushed)
   cooking oil (vegetable or canola)

Method for shaping Arancini:

1. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl.
2. Add the breadcrumb/almond mixture to a large plate.
3. Line a large tray with paper towels.
4. Remove risotto from the fridge. Place 1/2 cup of rice in the palm of your hand and shape into a cup.
5. Roll the arancino in the beaten eggs and then in roll in the breadcrumbs.
6. Set on the tray.
7. Continue to make the arancini using this method until all the risotto has been used.
8. Heat the oil on medium high in a large fry pan
9. Carefully drop the arancini in the oil and turn to fry all sides.
10. Return to a paper towel-lined tray to absorb any oil.       
11. There should be 16-18 arancini