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Italian Braised Pork Ribs with Pasta

This classic Italian Sunday lunch recipe is made with pork ribs cooked in a rich tomato sauce until the meat is succulent and tender. Traditionally, this dish is divided into 2 courses but you can make 2 meals out of it. Cook once eat twice! 

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
2 hrs
Total Time
2 hrs 15 mins
Servings: 4
Calories: 897 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

  • 320 g elicoidali pasta tubes (11oz) or rigatoni, tortiglioni, penne etc
  • 800 g pork ribs (28 oz) in or off bone
  • 1-2 carrots
  • 1 onion
  • 1-2 celery stalks
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ chili pepper (peperoncino) optional
  • 350 g tomato passata or chopped peeled tomatoes (11oz)
  • 8-10 cherry tomatoes
  • ½ glass dry white wine (or red if you prefer)
  • 1 cup beef or chicken stock if required
  • salt for pasta and to taste
  • ground black pepper to taste
  • 4-5 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Trim some fat off the ribs and cut them in half. Most of mine didn’t have a hard bone. You can ask your butcher to do this or look for boneless ribs. Rub the ribs with some sea salt.
  2. Peel and finely chop the onion. Wash and finely chop the celery and carrots. Wash the cherry tomatoes. If using, chop the chili pepper into small pieces. Remove most the seeds so it’s less spicy!
  3. Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a deep pan and brown the ribs. Remove and set aside. You may need to do this in batches. 
  4. Add the finely chopped onion, carrot and celery to the pan and cook for a few minutes. Don’t let them burn. Add more olive oil if necessary. 
  5. Add the bay leaf, chili pepper and cherry tomatoes mix together and cook for a minute. Then add the browned pork ribs. Pour in the wine and turn up the heat so the alcohol evaporates. 
  6. Now pour in the tomato passata/chopped peeled tomatoes and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir everything together and reduce the heat.
  7. Cook the sauce covered over a lowish heat for about 2 hours or until the meat is very tender and easy to remove from the bone. Exact cooking time depends on the size of your ribs. Check them after 90 minutes. Add some water or stock if the sauce reduces too much. Remove the lid for the last 30 minutes is the sauce is too liquidy.
  8. Put a pot of water onto boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again. Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet.
  9. When the braised ribs are ready remove them from the sauce. Strip the meat from 3-4 and put back into the sauce. Keep the rest of the ribs with some sauce for another meal or course. You can serve them with potatoes or polenta. 
  10. Alternatively you can strip the meat from all the ribs and eat with the pasta or serve the pasta and sauce with whole ribs! 
  11. When the pasta is ready drain and add to the sauce. Mix together well and serve immediately. If you like, you can add chopped parsley or grated Parmigiano before serving!

Notes

  • I prefer the pork ribs to be shorter. If I can only find long ones with a bone, I get the butcher to cut them in half or I buy boneless ribs. But you can keep longer bone-in ribs intact if you prefer.
  • This recipe can be made with any ridged pasta tube such as rigatoni, penne rigate, tortiglioni, maccheroni etc

Nutrition Information

Calories 897kcal (45%) Carbohydrates 75g (25%) Protein 36g (72%) Fat 48g (74%) Saturated Fat 13g (65%) Polyunsaturated Fat 8g Monounsaturated Fat 22g Trans Fat 0.3g Cholesterol 112mg (37%) Sodium 279mg (12%) Potassium 1199mg (34%) Fiber 5g (20%) Sugar 10g (20%) Vitamin A 3167IU (63%) Vitamin C 20mg (22%) Calcium 77mg (8%) Iron 5mg (28%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 897

% Daily Value*

Calories 897kcal 45%
Carbohydrates 75g 25%
Protein 36g 72%
Fat 48g 74%
Saturated Fat 13g 65%
Polyunsaturated Fat 8g 47%
Monounsaturated Fat 22g 110%
Trans Fat 0.3g 15%
Cholesterol 112mg 37%
Sodium 279mg 12%
Potassium 1199mg 26%
Fiber 5g 20%
Sugar 10g 20%
Vitamin A 3167IU 63%
Vitamin C 20mg 22%
Calcium 77mg 8%
Iron 5mg 28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.