Fresh Tagliatelle with Ragù Bolognese
Mains · Serves 6 · Prep 1 hr · Cook 3 hr 20 min · Total 4 hr 20 min
A true Bolognese is more meat than tomato: a slow soffritto, a splash of milk and three quiet hours on the back burner. Wide ribbons of fresh egg pasta are what it was made to cling to. Freeze any leftover ragù for a weeknight that needs it.
Ingredients
The Ragù
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, plus 1 tbsp for finishing
- 4 oz pancetta, finely chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 medium carrot, finely diced (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 celery rib, finely diced (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 lb ground beef chuck
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup tomato passata (strained tomatoes)
- 2 cup low-sodium beef or chicken stock, divided
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving
The Tagliatelle
- 2 3/4 cup "00" or all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 2 tbsp semolina, for dusting the cut pasta
Steps
The Ragù
- Warm the oil and 2 tbsp butter in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until its fat runs, about 4 minutes. Add the onion, carrot, celery and a pinch of salt and cook gently, stirring, until very soft and sweet but not browned, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Raise the heat to medium-high and add the beef and pork. Break the meat into small crumbles and cook until the juices have evaporated and the meat starts to sizzle and brown in spots, 10 to 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour in the wine and simmer until almost gone, about 5 minutes. Add the milk and nutmeg and simmer until the milk is absorbed, 8 to 10 minutes; this keeps the meat tender.
- Stir in the tomato paste, passata and 1 cup of the stock. Turn the heat to the lowest setting so the sauce barely bubbles, partly cover and cook 2 1/2 to 3 hours, adding stock a splash at a time whenever it looks dry. It's ready when thick and glossy, with a little fat pooling at the edges. Season to taste.
The Tagliatelle
- Mound the flour on a clean counter and make a wide well in the center. Crack in the eggs, add the salt and beat with a fork, slowly pulling in flour from the walls. When it gets too thick to stir, knead by hand for 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and springy. Add a dusting of flour if sticky, or wet your hands if crumbly. Wrap and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each through a pasta machine from the widest setting down to the second-thinnest, until you can see your hand through the sheet. Dust with flour and let the sheets dry until leathery but still flexible, about 10 minutes. Roll each sheet up loosely, slice into 1/4-inch ribbons and toss with semolina so they unfurl into loose nests.
- Cook the tagliatelle in a large pot of well-salted boiling water until tender with a little bite, 2 to 3 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. Toss the pasta with about 3 cups of ragù, the remaining 1 tbsp butter and a splash of pasta water over low heat for 1 minute, until every strand is coated. Serve with Parmigiano.