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Prep time
1 hour
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Cook time
6 hours
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Serves
4-6
Author Notes
This pasta recipe is a love letter to my daughters. I've used my cookbook collection and years of trial and error to recreate a delicious dish we had at Mr. Mao's restaurant in New Orleans. My daughters insist that radiatore is the only pasta I can use, but please use your favorite.
After a long day of New Orleans fun, we were hungry for something that wasn't Cajun. Mr. Mao's had been recommended to us and it didn't disappoint. All dishes at the restaurant are a fusion of Asian, Latino, Italian, and Southern cuisine. What's more, they are all served tapas style. I think we ordered three (tapas) plates of this delicious pasta that is a mixture of salsa verde, the most delicious strands of pulled pork, radiatore pasta and shaved Parmesan.
I recommend enjoying the pasta with a crisp, high acid white wine: a dry Riesling, Falanghina, or Albariño. A German Sekt would also work well.
Thank you to Mr. Mao's for providing the experience that is the basis of the dish. My teenage daughters happily take seconds every time.
The salsa verde is adapted from Matt Martinez's Culinary Frontier. —Anna Gsanger
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Ingredients
- Roast Pork
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1.5 - 2 pounds
Pork roast of your choice, I've used pork brisket
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Chili rub/powder
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Salt
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Pepper, ground
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2-3 cups
Broth, pork or chicken or a mixture
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2
Bay Leaves
- Verde Sauce
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3 tablespoons
Olive oil
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1/2
Vidalia onion, finely chopped
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10-12
Husk on tomatillos, (~1.25 lbs), finely chopped
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2-3
Jalapeños, seeds and pith removed, finely chopped
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3
Garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
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1/2 cup
Fresh cilantro, finely chopped
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2 1/2 cups
Chicken broth
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2 tablespoons
Cornstarch
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1 teaspoon
Sugar
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1 pound
Radiatore pasta
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Salt, to taste
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Parmesan, shaved
Directions
- Roast Pork
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Roast Pork:
Salt and pepper all sides of the roast, then liberally coat with chili rub/powder of your choice.
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Heat a slow cooker to the highest browning temperature and brown on all sides, 4-5 minutes per side.
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Add broth to just reach the top of the roast. Place the bay leaves in the slow cooker.
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Set the slow cooker for 2 hours on high heat and 4 hours on low heat and enjoy as the smell permeates the kitchen and your house!
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When the pork is finished, shred the meat with a fork and let it remain in the broth.
- Verde Sauce
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Salsa Verde:
About an hour before the pork is finished, chop the onions, tomatillo, jalapeños, garlic and cilantro.
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Heat the oil on medium in your favorite heavy saucepan. Add the onions and brown.
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Next add the tomatillos, jalapeños, garlic and cilantro. After stirring all of the ingredients together, add 2 cups of broth. Simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes.
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Create a slurry with the remaining 1/2 cup of broth, cornstarch and sugar. Drizzle the slurry into the salsa and simmer for 10-15 minutes until it thickens. You want the sauce to thicken to the consistency of most tomato-based pasta sauces. Add salt to taste.
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Pasta:
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and prepare the radiatore according to the package instructions. Drain and assemble the final dish as detailed below.
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Assembly:
In shallow pasta bowls, place a serving size of pasta in each bowl (use your hunger level to determine this). Ladle the salsa verde on top of the pasta, top with pieces of the shredded pork and shave parmesan on top.
Enjoy!
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The pork and salsa verde can be made ahead of time.
Enjoy (any) leftover pork in sandwiches or on its own and use the pork broth from the slow cooker for your next recipe requiring broth.
Any remaining salsa verde can be used with chips and tortillas as well.
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