Tagliatelle al Ragù · Tagliatelle al Ragù alla Bolognese
Emilia-Romagna · pasta · serves 6 · 240 min total · medium
Bologna's grand pasta. The official recipe was deposited at the Bologna Chamber of Commerce in 1982 — long, slow, with milk in the sauce.
Ingredients
- 600 g egg tagliatelle (fresh if possible)
- 400 g ground beef chuck
- 200 g ground pork
- 100 g pancetta, diced
- 1 medium onion
- 1 medium carrot
- 1 stalk celery
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 300 g tomato passata
- 250 ml dry red wine
- 250 ml whole milk
- 500 ml beef stock
- 80 g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt and pepper
- 1 pinch nutmeg
Method
- Finely dice onion, carrot, celery — equal parts (the soffritto). Render pancetta in olive oil in a heavy pot. Add the soffritto and sweat 10 minutes until soft, never browned.
- Push the soffritto aside, add beef and pork. Brown thoroughly, breaking it up. Season with salt, pepper, and a scrape of nutmeg.
- Stir in tomato paste, cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour in red wine. Reduce until almost dry.
- Add the passata and half the stock. Bring to the barest simmer.
- Cook uncovered on the lowest possible heat for 3 hours, topping up with stock and milk in alternating splashes whenever it gets dry. Stir occasionally.
- The finished ragù is glossy, dark, and silky — a tight meat sauce, not a tomato soup.
- Cook tagliatelle 2 minutes in salted water (fresh) or 8 minutes (dry). Toss with hot ragù and Parmigiano. Never serve over spaghetti.