Wild Boar Ragu

Directions

• In a food processor, puree the garlic, carrots, celery and onions into a coarse paste. Reserve.
• Coat a dutch oven with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Sprinkle the boar generously with salt and add to the hot pan. Cook the boar until it is browned on all sides. Remove from the pan and reserve.
• Remove any excess oil in the pan. Add a few drops of new oil and add the pureed veggies to the pan. Season them with salt and brown until dark, but not burnt. Scrape any bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
• Add the tomato paste and cook until it’s a few shades darker. Return boar and add cocoa powder and juniper berries. Stir to combine.
• Add the beer and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let the reduce by half.
• Add water to the pot so it covers the boar by about 1” (4cm). Toss in the bay leaves and thyme. Taste the liquid and season with salt if needed. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce to a simmer, put the lid on and let cook for 3 hours, adding water as the liquid level reduces. Taste frequently and re-season as needed.
• During the last 30 mins of cooking, remove bay leaves and thyme stems and let the cooking liquid reduce so the sauce gets thick.
• Once reduced, stir mascarpone into ragu.
• To Plate
• Using a carving fork, do your best to loosely wrap the pasta around. Place the rolled pasta onto one side of a new plate, sliding out the fork to leave a neat spiral of pasta. Top with a few more chunks of wild boar, a grating of cured egg yolk, a handful of rosemary flowers and small branches of fennel fronds. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.