TAGLIATELLE WITH RAGU

Pappardelle

Did you know that Italians would never dream of serving their traditional bolognese sauce on spaghetti? Tagliatelle or if you cannot find it, pappardelle or fettuccine, are also acceptable pasta to serve their ragù alla bolognese.

This recipe is one of the best I have ever eaten and it is absolutely delightful. A couple of times we haven't had enough time to let it cook for 3 hours and have had to cut it short. Still delicious!! 😍

INGREDIENTS
1 onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
100g pancetta or bacon, finely chopped
250g minced pork
250g minced beef
2 oregano sprigs, leaves separated
120g chicken livers, trimmed and finely chopped (I use paté instead)
125ml dry white wine
215ml milk
400g tin chopped tomatoes
250ml beef stock
pinch of nutmeg
olive oil
salt & pepper
400g tagliatelle
grated parmesan 

METHOD:
Prepare all ingredients. I use a food processor to chop the vegetables.

Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the pancetta or bacon. Cook for about 1 minute.

Add the onion and the garlic and cook for a further minute.

Add the celery and carrot and cook over moderate heat for about 6 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Add the minced beef, pork and oregano to the saucepan. Season with salt and pepper and the nutmeg. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the mince has changed colour but not browned. 

Add the chicken livers (or paté) and cook until it changes colour.

Pour in the wine, increase the heat and boil over high heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the wine has been absorbed. 

Stir in 125ml of the milk, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and half the stock and bring it to the boil.

Partially cover the pan and leave to simmer gently over very low heat for 3 hours. 

Add more stock as it is needed to keep the sauce moist.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente. 

Stir the remaining milk into the sauce 5 minutes before serving.
Taste the sauce for seasoning, then drain the tagliatelle, toss with the sauce and serve with grated Parmesan.

Serves 4 - 6

Tagliatelle

Variation:

This is a very traditional Catalan recipe. It is real comfort food to me. I grew up eating it and it was a favourite Sunday lunch dish.

Method:

Follow the above recipe but when you put the pasta to boil, preheat oven to 200C.

Make a bechamel sauce - I used the Thermomix and it takes only about 10 minutes to cook, but you can make it on the stove.

Once the pasta is cooked and strained, put it on a baking dish, add the ragu and about 1/4 of the bechamel sauce and mix well.

Top with the bechamel sauce and sprinkle some grated parmesan or pecorino cheese and bake for about 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and turned golden brown.

Serve immediately.

Macarroni with bechamel sauce