One of the places we like to visit when we are in the mood for great Italian in Vancouver is Cibo Trattoria in the Moda Hotel. We start with a cocktail in the adjacent lounge, Uva Wine + Cocktail Bar, and then slink on over for a decadent meal. The room seats 40 in an uncrowded but cozy manner and has a very modern, appealing feel. The chefs source local and have been featured in such great cookbooks as The Butcher, The Baker, The Wine and Cheese Maker, a celebration of all things local by author Jennifer Schell.

When it comes to pork they have an amazing charcuterie plate, so don’t miss that, but we are also very fond of the Pappardelle with Wild Boar Ragu from  Chef de Cuisine Dan Martin. The sauce is so rich and it’s full of not only slow cooked local boar, but also chanterelle mushrooms and then topped with a black truffle pecorino. Thanks for sharing this recipe chef and we hope we see some pictures of your version at home. Tag #passionforpork and we’ll find you.

Pappardelle with wild boar ragu and chanterelle mushrooms

Ingredients

Pappardelle (dried is fine)
5 pounds of ground wild boar
1 pound of chanterelles (split in half)
100 grams of black truffle pecorino
2 litres of red wine
2 litres of chicken stock
1 bunch of celery (fine diced)
6 carrots (fine diced)
4 red onions (fine diced)
8 garlic cloves  (minced)
15 sage leaves (chiffonade)
1 cup of thyme (chopped)
1 cup of rosemary (chopped)
5 bay leaves
3 tbls of fennel seed (ground)
2 tbls of black pepper (ground)
¼ pound of butter (cubed)
4 tbls red wine vinegar

Method:

Ragu:

1 First, heat a dutch oven with olive oil and caramelize the wild boar till its a nice golden brown. This should take about 15 to 20 minutes.

2 Add the vegetable and garlic mixture to the boar and cook down for another 15 minutes.

3 Once the whole mixture has cooked down and most of the natural water has mostly evaporated, add the herbs and spices. Mix in thoroughly.

4 Add the wine and chicken stock

5 Place in the oven at 350 for roughly 2 to 3 hours, make sure the lid is slightly open to let vapors escape

6 Once all the stock and wine has reduced, you should be left with a thick rich sauce. Add a quarter pound of butter to finish the ragu with 4 tbls of nice red wine vinegar to balance. Salt to taste.

Pasta:
7 Sauté chanterelle mushrooms on the side, and add to ragu when ready to serve.

8 Boil the pappardelle to al dente, then toss with ragu

9 Shave truffle pecorino as desired and serve