From the freezer
1 ALWAYS DEPENDABLE TOMATOES
Pork shoulder Bolognese
Instead of mince I use pork shoulder, one of my favourite cuts for melt-in-the-mouth pulled meat, in a versatile Bolognesestyle tomato sauce that can be served in many ways. The oven does all the hard work; you can just serve and enjoy.
Serves 8 with pasta • Preparation time: 30 minutes • Cooking time: about 3½ hours • Oven temperature: 160°C
• 125ml olive oil
• 1.5kg pork shoulder, skin removed
• 500g bacon bits
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 8 whole frozen plum tomatoes (thawed)
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 250ml quality red wine
• 60ml tomato paste
• 15ml sugar
• 250ml stock
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 125ml cream (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
1 Heat the oil and fry the pork until golden-brown all over. This step is optional but I believe it improves the flavour.
2 Remove the pork from the pan and fry the bacon in the same oil until browned. Stir in the onion and carrot and fry until glossy.
3 Preheat the oven. Cut a cross in the tomatoes and peel them. Stir the garlic and peeled tomatoes into the bacon and vegetables in the pan and heat. Stir in the wine and cook for 5 minutes.
Put the pork back into the pan, add the tomato paste, sugar, stock, thyme and bay leaves, then cover and
