This Tagliatelle alla Bolognese recipe is the real thing, states Gino D’Acampo. The genuine ragù, as it is made in Bologna, is a mouthwatering meat sauce that includes different types of mince, including pork and beef, slowly cooked in a tomato and vegetable sauce. In Italy, this sauce is only ever served with broad, flat pasta such as tagliatelle or fettuccine and never with spaghetti.
Ingredients (Serves 6)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, very finely diced
- 2 celery sticks, very finely diced
- 1 large carrot, very finely diced
- 500g minced pork
- 500g minced beef
- 50ml red wine
- 50ml milk
- 4 tablespoons tomato purée
- 300ml passata
- 400ml chicken or vegetable stock
- 500g fresh tagliatelle
- Parmesan shavings, to serve (optional)
Instructions for Tagliatelle alla Bolognese
- Heat half the oil in a large sauté pan and fry the onion, celery and carrot for 5 minutes until soft and starting to colour.
- While the vegetables are cooking, put all the meat in a large bowl, pour over the remaining olive oil and crumble the meat between your fingertips. Add the meat to the pan and fry until brown – around 5 minutes.
- Deglaze the pan with the red wine and allow to simmer for a couple of minutes, then add the milk. Simmer for 2 minutes before stirring in the tomato purée, passata and stock, and then simmer gently for 3 hours until reduced and thickened.
- Once cooked, remove from the hob, season with salt and pepper then cover with a lid and leave for 20 minutes – you do not want the sauce to be boiling hot when you serve it.
- When ready to serve, bring a large pan of water to the boil and season generously with salt. Add the pasta to the pan and cook for 2–3 minutes or until just cooked.
- Drain the pasta, then return to the pan with the sauce and toss to combine.
- Serve in bowls with a few parmesan shavings scattered over, if you like.
- Enjoy Gino D’Acampo’s Grandfather’s Tagliatelle alla Bolognese!
Hungry for more recipes? Check out Gino’s Italian Escape!