Nibble, Nourish, Run

After the holidays, I committed to refocusing on my nibble, nourish, run mantra – having whole, healthy foods at every meal and exercising to energize and invigorate.  And despite the rather ridiculous snow storms (what better reason to camp out on your couch?), I’ve miraculously maintained my running routine and am less than a month away from the New York City half marathon (eeek!).  However, running further, faster and more frequently than I ever have certainly has affected my appetite.  I crave carbs.  Constantly.  So it’s not surprising that this recipe jumped out at me – pappardelle plus pork mixed with marvelous marscapone?  Pre-run pasta perfection.

Pork Pappardelle

Adapted from Food & Wine

One 2-pound piece of boneless pork shoulder or pork butt
Salt
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 Granny Smith apple, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 large celery stalk, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 thyme sprigs
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup Champagne vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
Freshly ground pepper
1 pound pappardelle

Preheat the oven to 300 F. Season the pork on all sides with salt. In a medium Dutch oven, heat the canola oil until shimmering. Add the pork and cook over moderately high heat, turning until seared on all sides, about 15 minutes. Transfer the pork to a plate.

Add the apple, onion, carrot, celery, garlic and thyme to the same pot and cook over moderate heat until beginning to brown – 5-8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, for about 2 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the chicken stock, vinegar and honey and bring to a simmer. Add the pork back into the pot, cover and transfer the to the oven. Cookthe pork for about 3 hours, turning once halfway through, until the pork is extremely tender.

Transfer the pork to a plate. Strain the sauce into a large bowl, pressing on the solids with the back of a spoon. Pour the sauce back into the pot. Using 2 forks, shred the pork. Transfer the shredded pork to the sauce and stir in the mascarpone. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Cover and keep warm.

Meanwhile, cook the pappardelle according to package directions. Drain the pasta and transfer to the casserole with the sauce. Toss the pasta with the sauce over moderate heat until well coated, about 1 minute. Transfer the pasta to bowls and serve immediately.  (The sauce can be made ahead of time & refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

The honey and apple add just a touch of sweetness to the sauce – and the mascarpone makes it just creamy enough.  We devoured this dish in mere minutes and went back for more.  It’s like a culinary cross between a pulled pork sandwich and a bolognese.  And it completely quelled my carb craving.

Question: Do you crave certain foods when you’re ramping up your workouts?  What bests quiets your cravings?