When my sister moved to California about a month ago, she cleaned out her pantry and I became the lucky recipient of dried pastas and noodles, oils and vinegars, and spices -- even saffron threads. Many of the noodles were Asian-style noodles like udon and soba, which I had never bought or cooked with before. I was excited to try some recipes with these new additions to my pantry.
This may sound strange, but I was flipping through my Williams-Sonoma catalog one evening, and I noticed a recipe for udon pork ragu. As I scanned through the ingredient list, I knew it was exactly what I wanted to make with all the udon noodles my sister left me.
The recipe calls for tons of heirloom tomatoes, which get cooked until they break down into a sauce. Pair that summery sauce with browned ground pork, fresh herbs, and chewy udon noodles, and you've got one spectacular dinner -- and lots of leftovers! (I only made half the recipe, and we still had tons!)
Udon Pork Ragu (adapted from Williams-Sonoma)
Ingredients
1 pound ground pork
1 yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 pounds heirloom tomatoes, cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch dice
Kosher salt
14 ounces udon noodles
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for serving
Preparation
In large skillet over medium-high heat, cook pork, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Add onions, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6 minutes.
Stir in garlic powder and pepper, and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
Add tomatoes, season with salt, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until tomatoes start to break down, about 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare udon noodles according to package directions.
Uncover tomato mixture, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, 10 to 12 minutes.
Add prepared udon noodles to sauce, and stir to coat them with the sauce.
Transfer pasta to bowls, garnish with parsley and basil, and sprinkle the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese on top.
I loved finding a dish that incorporated not only the newly gifted udon noodles but tons of wonderful heirloom tomatoes -- one of the things I love most about summer. It also doesn't hurt that the dish is relatively quick to throw together and only takes two pans.
Have you ever cooked with udon noodles? What have you made?
21 comments:
I like udon noodles in stir fries. This looks interesting!
I love udon noodles in broth with dumplings! I love this dish and I especially love that big bowl of heirloom tomatoes!
I love the texture of udon! Such a great hearty chewiness. I also LOVE that this mixes asian and italian foods...globalization baby.
I love Udon noodles but no surprise here, I've never cooked with them. i would only think to pair them with asian spices / broths but now I think the chewy hearty noodles are a fantastic pairing with a ragu.
This sounds awesome - I would never think to use udon noodles in a dish like this, either.
Completely agree on the noodle texture. Love how chewy they are!
Yum! I never would have thought to include udon noodles in a tomato-based dish but sounds like it works. I usually use udon noodles in soups. They're great for slurping but a bib is often needed!
this looks really good. i think i've told you before how obsessed i am with all things ragu. also those tomatoes look heavenly!
Hi Megan,
This looks fantastic. I'm so glad you tried our udon recipe. We knew when we were developing it that it's a bit of a departure from the norm but, like you said, when you start with tons of fresh heirloom tomatoes, how can you go wrong.
James - Williams-Sonoma Content Manager
Thanks for stopping by, James, and thanks for such a great recipe!
I have never cooked udon before - but this dish looks delicious!
this sounds delicious!! and is making me wonder if i, too, have udon noodles that i should use before my move :)
I've never cooked with Udon noodles, but this looks fabulous!
I've never had pork ragu before but it certainly sounds delicious. Will definitely bookmark this one.
wow! this dish sounds so yummy! i love udon noodles and i cant wait to try it out:) thank you for sharing this.
Looks like you scored with all that pasta. I love heirloom tomatoes and I've been cooking so much vegetarian dishes lately that my husband would love this!!!!!
This looks awesome. Love that huge stack of tomatoes you had there!
I love the Italian - Japanese fusion! Udon (I've served a lot of veggie stir-fries over them, plus used them for peanut sesame noodles) noodles are the perfect thickness for nice bolognese. Williams - Sonoma has some great recipes. I've been making their lasagna bechamel with caramelized onions for what seems like forever. Your take on their recipe looks awesome!
I love Udon noodles. They're so thick and tasty!
This looks super yummy! I have made recipes from the Williams Sonoma catalog before as well..yummy recipes! :)
What a super unique way to use udon noodles! I actually have some in my freezer right now that I've been wondering what to do with, so maybe I'll have to go get some tomatoes!
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