Pork Belly Ravioli

Would you believe I got lost in the grocery store for the past 5 months? Okay 50+ hours a week at the restaurant did not leave a lot of time for writing. But hey I do have a good stockpile of recipes now that I have tested.

Everywhere you turn these days I feel as though you see Pork Belly this and Pork belly that... If you don’t want to see another Pork Belly recipe, look away now.

The current Pork Belly hype is all for very good reason. It is a relatively easy cut of meat to cook, and you get some amazing results. I fully admit that this is not the dish to prepare if you are on a low fat diet, but I have never been accused of being on a low fat diet, so there.

This recipe started when I was watching TV the other night, and an idea for a dish to prepare for a client came into my head (we will cover that one on another day). I was thinking about the protein for the dish, and thought "wow, this would be nice with pork belly." This thought meandered to “wow, I would love some pork belly ravioli.” No one I know makes it, so I researched it and decided to just make a batch and see how it came out. The results were pretty damn good. The only down side was I knew this particular client would never approve the dish for their menu, but I ate well that night!

Pork Belly is fatty - there is no disputing that. The acidity of the sauce cuts the richness of the filling, so if you want an alternative to the pan sauce below, a lemon caper sauce would work nicely as well.  

This dish is time intensive (work intensive as well if you make your own pasta) and not one to make if you are in a hurry. You can make your own pasta for the ravioli, or you can get dumpling wrappers. Note: It is very important to cool the filling before you fill the ravioli, otherwise the pasta will fall apart.

And before I hear about it, I really need to work on my photography.

Pork Belly Ravioli

Servings: 4
Yield: ~25 Ravioli

3 lbs Pork Belly (skin on)

1 tbsp Rosemary, dried
1 tbsp Fennel Seeds
Zest of 1 Lemon
6 ea Garlic Cloves
4 tbsp Olive Oil
3 tbsp Kosher Salt
1½ cup dry White Wine
3 Onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp All Purpose Flour
2 cups Chicken Stock
½ cup Marsala Wine
¼ cup Balsamic Vinegar
Ravioli Pasta or Dumpling Wrappers for 25 Ravioli
Egg Wash, as needed

1 Carefully score the Pork skin and fat. Make a diamond crisscross pattern making sure you do not cut into the meat.

2 Place Rosemary, Fennel Seeds, Lemon Zest, Garlic, Olive Oil and Salt into a spice grinder, blender or mortar and pestle, and process into a paste.

3 Massage the paste into the Pork, making sure to get it into the incisions. Wrap tightly and place in the refrigerator for 3-12 hours.

4 Preheat oven to 425°.

5 Place Pork in a roasting pan, skin side up. Carefully pour the White Wine over the top.

6 Roast at 425° for 30 minutes, then lower the heat to 350°.

7 Roast at 350° for one hour.

8 Add the sliced Onions to the pan around the Pork, avoid placing them on top.

9 Roast for one more hour, stirring the Onions and basting the Pork every 15 minutes.

10 Remove the Pork from the pan, and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

11 Remove the Onions from the pan, and place in a medium saucepan. Caramelize the Onions over medium heat.

12 Discard all but 2 tbsp fat from the roasting pan, retaining any juices. Place the roasting pan over medium heat, and stir in Flour (this is to get all fo the tasty bits up). Cook for 1 minute, then whisk in Chicken Stock, Marsala and Balsamic until smooth. Move this to a saucepan, and lightly simmer to reduce, stirring regularly (this will be the sauce for the raviloi).

13 Remove the crispy skin from the Pork and set aside. Dice the Pork into ¼ inch cubes, and place in a mixing bowl.

14 Stir the diced Pork vigorously, or knead with your hands.  Add the caramelized Onions, and stir until well incorporated. Adjust flavor with salt and pepper to your taste.

15 Place mixture in refrigerator or set aside.  The filling should be room temperature before making the Ravioli.

16 Bring a pot of salted water to boil.

17 Lay out your Pasta, and place one tbsp of filling on each - makes approx 25 Ravioli.

18 Brush Egg Wash around the edges, cover and seal the Ravioli, making sure to push the air out of the Ravioli as you seal it.

19 Place the Ravioli into the boiling water until the pasta is cooked through (about 1 minute).

20 Adjust flavor of sauce to taste (should be slightly acidic).

21 Place Ravioli in a bowl, and top with the sauce. Garnish with small slices of the crispy Pork skin.

Enjoy!