Pork and Fennel Ragu

    
There is a wild boar running around my head.  The wiry haired kind, with sharp tusks, running along forest paths through the underbrush.  Although, really, it's a pig, the Spanish kind that snuffles up acorns, or digs through the ground to find truffles.  That pig, snorting, rooting, is really browning, braising and simmering.  It's not in my mind, it is in my stomach.  For with the cooler, crisper air of fall, my mind, my heart, my stomach, turns to ragus and all their wild, body-warming goodness.  That is where my soul is, but that really is not quite where my stomach is at the moment.  Food can reflect space, or where you would like to be, or travel to, but it can also reflect time, or the season in which you find yourself.  
   
Fall is perhaps my favorite season.  Golden leaves, crisp air, sweaters, football.  What better time for a wild boar ragu?  Unfortunately, we are not quite there yet.  Here in mid-September, the nights are a little cooler, but the day times temperatures are still warm.  The apples up in the cool-nighted valleys may be ready for picking, but the warm temperatures here keep sentiment for them away.  It is the end of summer, so the peaches and nectarines no longer feel natural.  It is much too soon for my boar ragu, or rabbit, or bolognese.  Even apples, ripening on their trees, are a couple of weeks away for me and where I am.  How to bridge this gap between summer and autumn?  
    
I chose this recipe to reflect time in which I find myself.  It is is a ragu, so it is hinting at things to come.  It has hearty cremini mushrooms, tomato paste, and a red wine base.  It also features fennel, a summer if not spring vegetable, along with lemon for brightness.  The wine I chose is pinot noir.  Yes, a red, but lighter, still fruity.  In this way, I find harmony with my mood, with the season, with my current tastes.  Wild boar, you are still out there, but I will not hunt you tonight.  Serves 2.
    
Ingredients:
1/2 pound penne pasta
1/2 tsp chopped fennel seeds 
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 boneless pork loin chops sliced into 1/4" strips
2 tbsp flour
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup diced shallots
1 small fennel bulb, chopped
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp tomato paste
4 oz sliced cremini mushrooms
3/4 cup pinot noir wine
    
Directions:
Boil salted water in a medium pot and cook the pasta.  Drain when cooked.  Meanwhile, mix the fennel seeds, salt, pepper and lemon juice.  Add the pork and stir.  Add the flour and toss to coat.  Heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat and warm 2 tbsp of oil.  Brown the pork, in batches if needed, until brown on all sides, approximately 4 minutes.  Transfer the port to a plate and add 1 tbsp of oil to the skillet.  Add the shallots, fennel and 2 tbsp of parsley, reduce the heat, and cook to soften the vegetables, about 3 minutes.  Add the tomato paste, stir, and cook 3 minutes further.  Add the mushrooms, stir to mix, and then add the wine and 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid.  Deglaze and scrape the browned bits off the skillet.  Bring the ragout to a boil, turn down the heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.  Return the pork to the skillet and stir to reheat, about 2 minutes.  Boil down the sauce a little bit if a thicker sauce is desired.  Stir in the pasta and season.  Serve to bowls, topping with the remaining parsley and lemon zest.