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Tagliatelle with Ragù Bolognese: The Original Recipe
All purpose flour: 1 kg from the Vallona Farm, Bologna
Eggs: 10
Egg yolks: 2
Beef brisket: 2 kg, from the White Modenese Cow
Pork: 1.6 kg collar and rind, from the Mora pig
Pork: 0.6 kg collar cut, from Mora breed
Carrots: 400 gr (local)
White onion: 400 gr (local)
Celery: 400 gr (white, local)
Beefsteak tomatoes: 1.6 kg peeled, locally sourced
Tomato paste: 440 gr, double concentrate
Extra virgin olive oil: 440 ml, from Romagna
Red wine: 300 ml Pignoletto (Colli Bolognesi)
Kosher salt: 80 gr, from Cervia
Try this recipe for the original ragù from chef Alberto Bettini, patron of Amerigo1934, which has the reputation of serving the very best ragù in the city of Bologna, and therefore the world. Bettini insists that the most important thing for ragù is that you use local produce from the region of Emilia-Romagna.
Method
Place the flour on a cutting board with the eggs in the centre and knead until a smooth dough is obtained. Leave to rest for at least an hour wrapped in plastic wrap.
Roll a thin sheet of dough with a rolling pin, let it dry a little, roll it up and cut the tagliatelle with a knife in 7mm strips.
Clean the carrots, celery and onion and chop finely, put them in a saucepan with the oil and place on medium heat, fry them until they are slightly golden. Add the tomato paste at this point, cook it through well and then turn off the heat.
If you haven't asked your butcher to mince all the meat, do it now in a food processor or failing that, chop as finely as you can. The mix of meats is the trick to a great ragu and getting the fatty pork really helps to add extra flavour. Be sure to season well with salt before adding to the pan.
Cook the minced meat in a wide pan, when it is well cooked and dark brown all the way through, add the wine. Cook the wine off on low heat. When the wine is reduced, add the meat to the vegetables.
Add the tomatoes and bring the heat up until the ragu starts to bubble, then reduce to a low heat and cook slowly for at least four hours. You can also season with pepper, bay leaf works very well or some more classic Italian herbs like Rosemary. It's great to taste every hour and see how the dish evolves over time.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Place the tagliatelle in the water and cook until soft but al dente. Make sure not to overcook the pasta, you want a little bite and fresh pasta cooks very quickly.
When cooked, drain the pasta well and pour it into a pan with ragù and stir quickly. In the Bolognese countryside, it was customary for the tagliatelle al ragù to be accompanied by a fresh onion, cut into four wedges, seasoned with a pinch of salt, and the pasta sprinkled with spring onion.
For those who don't want to make it at home, the team at Amerigo1943 also sell their ragu sauce at Eataly.
