Italian Pulled Pork Ravioli

The day before (or up to 2 days before) you are making the ravioli, prepare the pork.

Pulled pork

1. Preheat oven to 150 C (300 F).
2. Pat the pork dry on all sides and set aside. Place fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle and grind until roughly crushed. Combine with oregano, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Take handfuls of the mixture and press onto all sides of the pork piece evenly until it coats the pork.
3. Place the pork in the bottom of a cast iron dutch oven and add the tin of tomatoes (crushed with your hands or with a fork), wine, bay leaves, garlic and onion. Place the lid on and put in the preheated oven for 5 hours, turning the pork over halfway through. After 5 hours test if the pork pulls away from itself easily with tongs. If not, leave it in for another 30 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and transfer the pork to a wooden board. Using two forks, pull apart the strands of pork and then set aside.
5. Discard the bay leaves, then strain the vegetables from the liquid (keeping each) and place the vegetables in a blender. Blend until smooth and then add to the pulled pork and stir to combine. Cover and cool the pork, then set aside in the fridge overnight.
6. Strain the remaining liquid through a muslin lined cheesecloth and then place in a jar and set aside in the fridge overnight. The next day when the oil and fat from the pork has solidified at the top of the jar, gently remove and discard this layer with a spoon - we are going to use this with the ravioli instead of a sauce.
7. You could easily stop here and not worry about making the ravioli. Or, you can eat half now and use the remaining half to make enough ravioli to serve 3-4 people.

Pulled pork ravioli 8. The pasta ratio I use to determine how much flour and egg is required is as follows: 1 person = 100g flour + 1 egg. 9. Place the flour on a clean bench. Make a well in the centre and crack the eggs into it. Beat the eggs with a fork until smooth. Using the tips of your fingers, mix the eggs with the flour, incorporating a little at a time, until everything is combined, then add the olive oil. 10. Knead the pieces of dough together until one large lump of dough forms. You need to work the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic. Kneading the dough will take about 10-15 minutes of hard kneading. Once smooth and elastic, wrap it in glad wrap and put in the fridge for 30 minutes. 11. Clamp your pasta machine to the bench and dust the bench top with flour. Cut a lump of the dough (about the size of a small orange) and flatten it out with the palm of your hand. Set the pasta machine at the widest setting and roll the lump through. Then set the machine down a level and roll the dough through again. Continue this process going down a level each time until you get it as thin as you desire. Repeat with all of the dough until you are left with fresh lasagna sheets. 12. Cut large circles, about 9-10cm in diameter from the lasagna sheets. Take the remaining pasta scraps and put back through the machine to make as many circles as you can. Each raviolo will use two pasta circles. 13. Take one pasta circle and place a tablespoon full of the pulled pork mixture in the centre. Using a brush or your finger, wet the edges of the pasta with a little water and place another circle of pasta on top. Join the circles at one edge and then work around the circle, joining the edges while pushing any air out of the ravioli as you go. You will need to stretch the top layer of pasta over the filling as you go. You can leave the edges circular, or you can use a crimped pasta cutter around the edges like I did. 14. Repeat with remaining pasta dough and pulled pork filling. At this point you can freeze the ravioli if you want to use it at a later date, or you can leave in the fridge until ready to cook. Wherever you store them, make sure you separate the ravioli in layers between non-stick paper that has been lightly sprinkled with flour or semolina flour.

To serve 15. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil over medium high heat. Drop in the ravioli and cook for 3-4 minutes until they are cooked, but still al dente. 16. When cooked remove from the water and place on serving plates. Place the pulled pork liquid in the microwave for 1 minute to liquify completely and warm up, then evenly pour the liquid over the pasta in the serving plates. Serve immediately with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and continental parsley or a micro herb (I used micro rocket I bought at Woolworths).

Note (sauce): Puree the vegetables left over from the slow cooker, together with more tomatoes, 1/2 cup sour cream and a little pesto.

From https://chewtown.com/2016/09/italian-pulled-pork-ravioli/