Recipe from Nate Appleman, Shelley Lindgren and Kate Leahy
Adapted by Christine Muhlke
- Total Time
- 5 hours 15 minutes, plus overnight seasoning
- Rating
- 4(77)
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:Serves 4 to 6
- Chestnut Polenta With Ragù alla Napoletana
- Eggs
- Ricotta Salata
- Lardo
- 1pound boneless pork shoulder, cut into large chunks
- 8ounces pork belly, cut into large chunks
- Kosher salt
- ½cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1red onion, peeled and halved
- 228-ounce cans San Marzano
- whole peeled tomatoes and their juices
- 8ounces prosciutto, cut into large chunks (see notes)
- 1cup coarse-ground polenta
- Kosher salt
- ¼cup chestnut flour (see notes)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Handful of basil leaves
- 4 to 6eggs
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Chunk of ricotta salata
- 4 to 6thin slices of lardo (optional) (see notes)
For the Ragù
For the Polenta
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
The day before, prepare the meats for the ragù: Sprinkle the pork shoulder and pork belly all over with salt and refrigerate overnight.
Step
2
Make the ragù: Place the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion halves, cut-side down, and brown gently for about 20 minutes, moving them occasionally. Remove the onions.
Step
3
Place the tomatoes and their juices in a bowl, season with a few pinches of salt and squeeze into chunks. Add the tomatoes and meats (including prosciutto) to the pot and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and cook at a very low simmer for 4 hours. Remove from heat and let cool.
Step
4
Remove the meats from the sauce and set aside for another use (added to leftover ragù, they’re great over pasta). Season ragù to taste with salt.
For the Ragù
Step
5
Make the polenta: In a medium pot, combine the polenta, 4 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and whisk continuously until the mixture comes together. Lower heat to a simmer and stir often with a wooden spoon until tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the chestnut flour and cook for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and cover.
Step
6
In a large sauté pan, combine 3 cups of the ragù, the basil and ½ cup water. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Crack the eggs and distribute them evenly on top of the ragù. Give the pan a shake to ensure that the eggs do not stick to the bottom, cover with a lid and cook until the eggs have set, 5 to 10 minutes.
Step
7
Divide the polenta among warm bowls. Scoop up an egg with some ragù and place on the polenta. Drizzle the eggs with olive oil, grate ricotta salata over the top and garnish with a slice of lardo, if using. Serve immediately.
Ratings
4
out of 5
77
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Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Joe Dubbs
No offense to the author, but this is a very complicated take on what should be a simple dish. For an easier version, make your sauce (with or without meat), then move some to a saute pan and cook the eggs on top (as per step 2 in the "ragu" section). Skip the polenta and serve the egg and sauce over a crusty bread. Delicious. It's a great meal for when you don't feel like cooking anything else after making a big pot of sauce.
Shelley
Hahahaha!! This made me laugh right out loud. Thank you NYT food for cheering me up on a grey winter’s day
Karen Strickholm
This looks YUMMY! Crescent Dragonwagon does a dish called Eggs In Hell, a similar idea but it's a veg-loafed hearty red broth with japapeños, poached eggs nestled on top with melted cheese everywhere, eaten with a spoon and tortilla chips. Good bye, hangover!
Annabella
I agree with Joe Dubbs. This recipe, as presented, is a torturously complicated rendition of a simple Southern Italian dish. My Neapolitan grandma would laugh at this. Frankly, this dish is part of cucina povera when folk didn't have expensive ingrdients. Skip the meat version and just enjoy the simplicity of eggs and herbs in the tomato sauce. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!!
Joe Dubbs
No offense to the author, but this is a very complicated take on what should be a simple dish. For an easier version, make your sauce (with or without meat), then move some to a saute pan and cook the eggs on top (as per step 2 in the "ragu" section). Skip the polenta and serve the egg and sauce over a crusty bread. Delicious. It's a great meal for when you don't feel like cooking anything else after making a big pot of sauce.
Shelley
Hahahaha!! This made me laugh right out loud. Thank you NYT food for cheering me up on a grey winter’s day
Squirrel Butler
Totally agreeThis clearly was meant as humour!
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