Sarah Schafer, the head chef, and owner of Irving Street Kitchen in Portland, Oregon, has been cooking Italian food for years, after cutting her teeth in fine-dining kitchens like Gramercy Tavern and Eleven Madison Park in New York.
“For a while I was like, I’m that chef who doesn’t need to go to a class. And now I’m like, No, there’s so much more that I could learn in a class,” says Schafer. “About two and a half years ago I went to a cooking school in Bologna for a couple of classes on just pasta. That class in Bologna opened up my eyes.” Schafer has also spent time in Florence and the Mercato Centrale is the inspiration for her new restaurant/food hall called La Cooperativa, opening in June.
“There’s this local deli shop in Florence that my friend goes to, and I spent time with the gentleman who owns it and his Nonna,” says Schafer. This recipe comes from that Nonna and is an example of the kind of pasta she’ll be cooking at La Cooperativa.
Nonna’s Pork Shoulder Ravioli all’Amatriciana by Sarah Schafer, La Cooperativa
Yield: 4-6 Servings
Ingredients:
Pork Filling
1T extra virgin olive oil
1lb pork shoulder
Kosher salt
Black pepper
1 bay leaf
2 rosemary sprigs
½ c Parmesan, grated
1tsp Dijon mustard
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 egg
Pasta Dough
125g “00” flour, plus extra for dusting
62g egg yolks (about 3)
7g extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
1 small celery stalk, chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 T extra virgin olive oil
3 thick slices of bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 28oz can San Marzano Tomatoes, crushed with your hands
Salt, to taste
¼ tsp chili flakes
¼ C chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus extra for garnish
½ C grated Grana Padano, plus extra for garnish
½ C grated Pecorino Romano, plus extra for garnish
Method:
Pork Filling:
Over medium heat, add olive oil to a large pot.
Salt and pepper the pork generously, then add it to the pot. Slowly and patiently sear on all sides till brown.
Add bay leaf and rosemary and then add just enough water to cover the pork.
Gently simmer, partially covered on low to medium heat for 2-3 hours, or until the meat is very tender.
Drain the pork and discard the liquid, bay leaf, and rosemary. Carefully pick the meat apart and discard any fat or gristle.
Chill or freeze the meat for about 1 hour.
Remove meat from the refrigerator and pulse in a food processor until almost fine.
Add Parmesan, mustard, nutmeg, and egg and process until combined. Set mixture aside.
Pasta Dough:
Place flour on a wood bench and make a well in the center.
Add the yolks and the olive oil and slowly work the liquids to incorporate the flour.
As it comes together to form a ball, start to knead the dough. If it’s too wet add some fresh flour if it’s too dry add some water.
After the initial ball is formed, set it aside and clean the work surface with a bench scraper. Add a fresh dusting of flour, clean your hands, and let them remain a little wet.
Work the dough again for about 5 minutes, until it feels like it bounces back to the touch.
Cover the dough with a bowl or plastic wrap and let it rest for 15-30 minutes.
Assembling Ravioli:
When the meat is ready, roll the pasta into two sheets about 1 mm thick and about 2 feet long.
Working in batches, use a teaspoon to place evenly spaced dollops of the pork mixture on one pasta sheet, about ¾-inch apart to leave room for sealing.
Using a spray bottle filled with water, gently spray the bottom pasta layer with the meat on it and then cover with another sheet of pasta.
Crimp the two pasta sheets together using a ravioli cutter. I prefer one with a spring in the bottom that pops them out.
Dust a baking sheet with “00” flour and place ravioli on it. You can freeze them for up to a week or refrigerate for up to one day.
Amatriciana Sauce:
Combine onion, celery, and garlic in a food processor and pulse to make a course paste, or pestata.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
Add the bacon and cook until crisp.
Add the pestata and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is dry and begins to stick to the pot.
Add the tomatoes, salt, and chili flakes and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Carefully puree the sauce with a stick blender or use a blender, working in small batches, until smooth.
Pork Shoulder Ravioli all’Amatriciana
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt to taste.
In the meantime, add the Amatriciana Sauce to a sauté pan.
Add about a ½ cup of the pasta water to the sauce, heat, and set aside.
Add ravioli to the pot of boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes then remove from water and immediately add to the sauté pan.
Let ravioli cook for about another minute in the sauce.
Divide the ravioli between 4-6 plates and serve with chopped parsley and more cheese.