The Farmers Son X Simmer Kitchen: Ragu with Scottish Haggis & Fresh Pasta

The next recipe up in our collaboration with Simmer Kitchen is this Pancetta & pork shoulder Ragu with Scottish Haggis & Fresh Pasta. In the vast world of culinary delights, fusion cuisine stands as a testament to the creative spirit of chefs and home cooks alike. One such intriguing blend is the combination of pancetta ragu, a classic Italian dish, with the distinctly Scottish haggis, served over fresh pasta (optional). This dish marries the rich, savoury notes of pancetta and the robust, earthy flavours of haggis, creating a symphony of tastes that is both comforting and exotic. You can view our video here.

Serves: 6-8

Prep & cooking time included in each stage.

See order below for recipes: preparation followed by ragu then an optional fresh pasta recipe (which is easier than you think!) and finally, bringing it all together.

Ingredients:

• 200g pancetta 200g, diced

• 1.2kg of pork shoulder 

• 250g Haggis, crumbled

• 2 medium onions, finely chopped

• 4 cloves garlic , minced

• 2 large carrots, diced

• 2 stalks celery, diced

• 1 – 2 garlic bulbs 

• Hard herbs, such as thyme or rosemary 

• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• 2 cans (800 grams) plum tinned tomatoes

• 200 ml red wine

• 500 ml beef or chicken stock (for ragu sauce) 

• 1lt beef or chicken stock (for braising pork shoulder) 

• Splash of olive oil (for the ragu sauce) 

• Splash of olive oil or sunflower oil: (for the pork shoulder) 

• A handful, chopped, of fresh soft herbs such as basil, parsley or chive.

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

• 450g fine semolina 

• 300g ‘00’ flour 

• 320g egg yolk 

• 2 tbsp salt 

• 160ml water

Braised pork shoulder:

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 4 – 6 hours

• Preheat the oven to 150 degrees. Heat a hot frying pan and add a splash of oil to the hot pan. Add some sea salt to the pork and fry the pork on each side for around 2-3 minutes until a nice caramelised color forms all over the pork.

• Take a large frying pan and making sure the pan is nice and hot you want to colour the pork shoulder all round trying to make a nice even colour.

• Get a deep baking tray or pot roast pan that can go in the oven, fill it halfway with the stock, and place the pork in. Cover with clingfilm or parchment paper and then with tin foil.

• Place the pork into the oven and braise for a good 6 hours, depending on size—the longer, the better. To test if it’s ready, the pork should flake like pulled pork.

Start by making the pasta dough: (optional)

Prep time: 20 minutes

• Start by making the pasta dough. In a bowl, mix the semolina, ‘00’ flour, egg yolk, salt, and water. Mix altogether for a few minutes and then pour it all out onto a work surface. Start kneading the dough till it all comes together and you can leave a thumbprint. Wrap it in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for a good hour. Check out our video which includes clips on making the pasta.

Preparing the ragu:

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 1.5 hours

• Start by making the soffritto*. Begin by roughly chopping the carrots, onions, celery, garlic, and hard herbs. You can do this either with a knife or using a food processor to blitz them into super fine pieces.

• In a large frying pan or saucepan, heat a splash of oil over medium heat add the diced pancetta & then add the minced vegetables. Sauté the vegetables, stirring constantly to prevent sticking, until they become translucent, which should take about 15 minutes.

• Next, add the tomato puree to the pan and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes. Deglaze the pan with red wine, allowing it to cook for a few more minutes. Then, add the stock and reduce the mixture on medium heat for approximately 2 minutes. 

• Finally, incorporate the pulled pork, along with some stock from the pork tray and the plum tomatoes (open the tin of tomato’s first put into a bowl and with your hands squash the pulps). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

• Let the mixture simmer on medium to low heat for a good 1.5 hours, ensuring you stir occasionally to meld the flavours perfectly.

• After a good time cooking and the ragu has started to thicken up crumble in the haggis, give it a good stir and cook for another 10 mins making sure its not sticking to the bottom of the pan.

• Finally add some chopped basil or soft herbs such as chive or parsley.

*a flavour base used in Italian cooking, typically consisting of finely diced onions, carrots, and celery, gently cooked in olive oil

Cooking the fresh pasta (optional):

Shaping the pasta:

• Take the pasta dough out of the fridge and decide on the shape for your pasta. If you have a pasta machine, try making tagliatelle or pappardelle. If you don't have a machine, you can cut the pasta dough into little blocks and roll them out into long worms. Cut these worms into small 2 cm pieces and use the back of a fork to roll the pieces of pasta down, creating ridged shapes.

Drying the pasta:

• After shaping the pasta, lay it out on a clean kitchen towel or a pasta drying rack. Allow it to dry for about 30 minutes before cooking, which will help the pasta maintain its shape during boiling.

• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fresh pasta and cook for a good 4 to 5mins.

Bringing it all together:

• Once the ragu is ready, add the chopped basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the ragu over the freshly cooked pasta, ensuring each plate has a generous portion of the rich, meaty sauce. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and a few fresh basil leaves.

We hope you enjoy our Pancetta & pork shoulder Ragu with Scottish Haggis & Fresh Pasta from Scottish Producer The Farmers Son & culinary expert Al of Simmer Kitchen. We will be bringing out more recipes in collaboration with Simmer Kitchen soon so make sure to look out for them on our recipe section here.