Spaghetti and Spare Ribs

I once saw Iron Chef Michael Symon prepare a dish similar to this on his Symon’s Suppers show on The Cooking Channel, so I thought I’d see what I could do with it.

The dish turned out pretty good. It’s not hard to make because I used jarred marinara sauce. You can use any sauce you want, perhaps even make your own, but I used Mezzetta Napa Valley Bistro Pasta Sauce that we picked up at the local Safeway Supermarket.

Ingredients

·         PORK SPARE RIBLETS, 10-12, separated and trimmed

·         CANOLA OIL, approximately 1½ cups

·         FLOUR, about ½ cup

·         SWEET ONION, 1 large, chopped

·         BACON, 4 slices cut into lardons

·         MARINARA SAUCE, 1 jar, about 3 cups

·         CHERRY TOMATOES, 15 smashed

·         CALAMATA OLIVES (Optional), 10 chopped

·         GARLIC SALT, to taste

·         BLACK PEPPER, freshly ground, to taste

·         DRIED SPAGHETTI, up to 1 pound

Directions

1.       Heat the oil in a large pan until a little flour tossed into it sizzles.

2.       Flour the riblets and brown on all sides, remove and set aside.

3.       In a large pot, brown the bacon in about a teaspoon of the oil.

4.       Add the onions and cook on medium heat until translucent.

5.       Add the marinara sauce and tomatoes (and optional olives), combine thoroughly.

6.       Season with garlic salt and ground pepper.

7.       Place the browned riblets into the sauce, stir, coating the riblets, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

8.       About 15 minutes before eating, cook the spaghetti pasta per package directions.

To serve, remove the riblets from the sauce pot, skim off the excess pork fat, add in the pasta and stir until evenly coated. Place a serving of sauced pasta on a plate, along with 2-3 riblets.