Tagliatelle al Ragù

Egg Pasta with Bologna's Registered Meat Sauce

In Bologna the meat sauce goes on flat egg tagliatelle, never spaghetti, and it is mostly meat: there is far less tomato in it than visitors expect. It cooks for two to three hours over a low heat and ends up brown-orange, thick and creamy.

The Accademia Italiana della Cucina first deposited a recipe for ragù alla bolognese at the Bologna Chamber of Commerce in 1982 and replaced it with an updated one on 20 April 2023. The current text, for six people, uses 400 g of minced beef, 150 g of fresh pancetta, about 60 g each of onion, carrot and celery, a glass of wine, 200 g of passata, a spoonful of tomato concentrate, optional milk and broth as needed, cooked for two to three hours.

It allows a mix of beef and pork, hand-chopped meat and a little nutmeg. It rules out veal, smoked pancetta, garlic, rosemary, parsley, brandy and flour.

Ingredients

For the ragù

  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 150 g unsmoked pancetta, finely diced
  • 60 g onion (1/2 medium), finely chopped
  • 60 g carrot (1 medium), finely chopped
  • 60 g celery (1 stick), finely chopped
  • 400 g coarsely minced beef
  • 150 ml red or white wine
  • 200 g tomato passata
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée (double concentrate)
  • About 500 ml hot beef or vegetable stock
  • 150 ml whole milk (optional)
  • Fine sea salt and black pepper

To serve

  • 500 g dried egg tagliatelle, or 600 g fresh
  • Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

Method

  1. Render the pancetta Heat the oil and pancetta in a heavy casserole over a medium heat for 5 minutes, until the fat has melted.
  2. Soften the vegetables Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook over a medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon, until soft but not coloured.
  3. Brown the meat Raise the heat, add the beef and cook for about 10 minutes, breaking it up, until it has lost its raw colour and is starting to sizzle.
  4. Add wine and tomato Pour in the wine and let it evaporate completely. Stir in the tomato purée and passata, then a ladle of hot stock.
  5. Simmer Cover and cook over the lowest heat for 2 to 3 hours, stirring now and then and adding a little stock whenever it looks dry. About halfway through, add the milk, if using, and let it cook away. Season at the end. The sauce should be thick, creamy and brown-orange, with no pool of liquid.
  6. Serve Cook the tagliatelle in salted boiling water until al dente, drain, toss with the ragù and a splash of pasta water, and serve with Parmigiano.

It freezes well. Make double.

Milk softens the acidity. The registered recipe makes it optional.

More Italy recipes