Easy Ragu Recipe for your Tagliatelle

Every family in Italy has its own recipe for ragù. It differs enormously from North to South: different meats, wine, fat, with or without milk. There’s a constant, though, and that is the time and patience required to make a proper ragù. In the ragù from Bologna there’s ground pork and beef meet, white wine and a touch of milk, to add creaminess to the sauce and tame the acidity of tomato.

• First step to make ragu: chop the carrots, celery and onion. Use a good sharp knife, and reduce the vegetables in a fine mince. That's what we call battuto. If you prefer to use a food processor, do it in several times. First chop the celery, parsley and carrot, then the onion, just enough to finely shred it.



• Cover the bottom of a pot with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Add the finely chopped vegetables. Add also a generous pinch of salt: this will help you to cook the vegetables without burning them, as the salt will extract the moisture from the vegetables.



• Cook your Bolognese Ragu over a low heat for about ten minutes, stirring often. The battuto will be happily sizzling, do not burn it or darken it too much. Now that the battuto is stir fried in the olive oil, we call it a soffritto.





• Move the pot over medium heat and add the ground beef and pork. Stir with a wooden spoon to break the meat into smaller pieces and mix it into the soffritto. Stir continuously and scrape the ground meat from the bottom and the sides of the pot with a wooden spoon. It will take at least 20 minutes to get to the right cooking point. The meat will release some liquid, so brown it until the liquid has been completely absorbed, and the meat is nicely browned.
  
  
  
  
• Now add the white wine gradually, and reduce it: pour the white wine in at least two times, reducing it completely before pouring more. Doing this, the wine will flavor the meat, without boiling it.



• Now add the Petti tomato paste and the hot water, stirring thoroughly to dissolve the tomato paste. The ragù will begin to mutter. Cover the pot, and simmer slowly. Stir from time to time, cooking it for at least an hour.





• Now add the milk and season with salt. Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the Ragu is thick and creamy.



• In the mean while, take a large pot of water to boil and cook your Tagliatelle. (Remember to follow our tips for the perfect Pasta!). Stir and cook according to the time reported on the packaging. Drain al dente and toss the Tagliatelle with the Ragù in a large pan. Finish with a generous sprinkle of grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Do you want to have super rich ragù? Try adding some dried porcini mushrooms: soak them in warm water for about half an hour before chopping them and adding them along with the meat. Use their water to cook the ragù.

If you do not feel like making your own ragù, use the Tomato Sauce with porcini mushrooms by La Dispensa di Amerigo. Warm it in a saucepan with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, then toss the pasta with the sauce.