| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 8 hr 20 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 8 hr |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 (4-pound) bone-in pork butt shoulder roast
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1/2 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
- 1 (16-ounce) package penne
- 3 fresh basil leaves, for garnish
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the pork with salt and pepper and brown it on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. While the pork is browning, add the celery, carrots, and onion to the bowl of a slow cooker. Put the pork on top of the vegetables and add the tomatoes and garlic. Place into the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
- Remove the pork to a cutting board or sheet pan. Pour the vegetables and liquid from the slow cooker bowl into a saute pan over medium heat, and mash with a fork. Add the tomato paste to the pan sauce and stir to incorporate. Shred the pork, add it to the vegetables, and let this simmer, uncovered, while you cook the pasta (save 2 cups of the ragu for the Round 2 Recipe Lasagna Roll Ups).
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the penne, stir, and cover the pot. When it returns to a boil, remove the cover and stir it again. Cook until the pasta is al dente, about 8 minutes. (Save 1 cup of pasta for the Online Round 2 Recipe Savory Noodle Pie.) Put the pasta into a serving platter, and pour the ragu over top. Serve immediately, garnished with basil leaves and Parmesan.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 1125 |
| Total Fat | 30 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Carbohydrates | 105 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 11 g |
| Sugar | 14 g |
| Protein | 110 g |
| Cholesterol | 276 mg |
| Sodium | 2075 mg |
Reviews
My family loves this recipe. I add two cans of tomatoes with the juices and whatever juice is left in my pan after searing my roast to the crock pot to help make more sauce. When I’m making the sauce I also add a can of tomato sauce and the zest and juice of two lemons. The lemon brings such a nice zing to the meat and cuts down the “stew” taste. I love the lemon pop in it!
Okay, so I normally love all of Sandra’s recipes, but this one fell apart for me in terms of flavor. I was so disappointed, because I was so excited to make this dish and it took a good 7 hours to cook, so you would think it would taste delicious, but nope. The pork was so bland.. If I hadn’t read the previous review, the sauce would have been a disaster too! But I followed the advice in putting creamy texture to the sauce, and salt and peppered my sauce, added 1/4 cup of heavy cream and 4 tablespoons of butter. Because of that, the sauce turned out pretty delicious! But the pork was such a disappointment, even after I soaked it in the sauce, still tasteless and dry. Definitely will not make again. I hope round 2 recipe will be much better!
it was ok. i felt like it was lacking some type of creamier/smooth texture. Maybe add cream cheese to it??
It was okay! Wouldn’t make it again.
If I were to make this a second time, I’d definitely want to create more of a sauce for the pasta. Adding a can of tomato sauce when you transfer the pork to the pot would really make a difference. Add more seasoning too, it is a little bland. Overall, this is a good meal to come home to at the end of the day and it will provide you with plenty of leftovers.
I read the reviews that people posted about needing more flavor. This is what I did: used boneless pork shoulder (that was my only option, seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Seared the meat in olive oil and butter, then removed to a plate. Then sauteed the veggies in the leftover oil with salt and pepper until soft. Added the veggies to the slow cooker, topped with meat, and topped with tomatoes as instructed in the recipe. Added two bay leaves. My husband loved it, and there was enough left over for 6 tupperwares full for lunches during the week. I will definitely use this one again. Really cheap for the amount that was made. I did not save any pork for the round two recipe, however.
I love all her recipes, they’re easy & delicious! My familys picky so all these pasta recipes are great
Extremely simple to make and the pork falls apart with very little help from a fork. I didn’t save any out for a round 2 meal but I can tell you we easily got 14-16 servings from this. 6 of us ate it as described the first night. 5 of us made sandwiches topped with dill pickles for lunch the next day. And we got at least 5 thermos-filled lunches of pasta mixed with the ragu throughout the week. We found ourselves wanting to zing it up a bit. I added spicy V8 to the lunches with little success for zing. My son added hot sauce to his. Plenty of freshly grated parmesan cheese the firt night helped but we wanted a little more flavor than this provided.
I found this recipe in her Money Saving Meals cookbook. Our dinner guests loved it! One note, it said it serves 4, but it was at least enough for 6 even after I reserved 3 cups to make lasagne later. I used a 2 pound roast because I remembered the recipe wrong…but it tasted great and had a nice balance of ingredients. I also added mushrooms for more texture. Served over vegetable infused pasta with a generous sprinkle of parmesan. This recipe is a keeper!
I made this as directed, and after feeding a family of 4, there was enough left for another family of 8. I think the leftovers will be good. Husband loved it, kids were so-so on it. I thought it was good, I might make it again, but nothing spectacular. I’m not a big meat eater, and it was a little heavy for my taste, but easy to do.