Massimo Mele's Gnocchi With Slow Cooked Pork Cheeks, Onions and Pecorino
- Cook time: 6hours
- Serves: 5
- Difficulty: Medium
Ingredients
- 100g delicate extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of lard (optional)
- 500g pork cheeks
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 bay leaves
- 3kg of white onions (sliced thinly)
- 120g whole milk
- 1 tablespoon salt (plus more to taste)
- Grated pecorino cheese
- Grated parmesan cheese
- 500g fresh gnocchi
Pork Rind Roll
- 1 pork rind
- 1 clove of garlic, sliced
- 7-8 leaves of flat parsley
- Salt (enough to cover the pork rind)
- Freshly ground black pepper (enough to cover the pork rind)
Method
Pork Rind Roll
- Stretch out the slab of pork rind.
- Sprinkle the slab with the garlic, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper.
- Roll up and tie with twine.
Sauce
- In a large saucepan heat the oil and lard. Add the meat and brown.
- Deglaze with the wine over high heat, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Lower the heat to medium and add the tomato paste and bay leaves.
- Cook for a few minutes to lightly toast the tomato paste.
- Add the onions and the milk. Add the pork rind roll if using. Stir until everything is mixed together.
- Cover with foil and cook on low heat until the onions no longer release any liquid.
- Lower to a simmer and cook until the mixture becomes a thick sauce and the colour becomes amber (4-5 hours).
- Remove the meat and slice/shred.
- Add meat back to the sauce.
- Cook pasta according to instructions and then add to the sauce.
- Garnish with a mix of grated parmigiano and pecorino cheese.
