Tagliatelle with Bolognese Sauce

Name: Tagliatelle with Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients: 500 g ground meat (beef, or half beef and half pork); 800 g canned tomatoes in their own juice (or the same amount of fresh tomatoes); 100 ml heavy cream 10-20% fat (or milk); 1 small onion (≈50g); 1 small carrot (≈50g); 1 celery stalk; 1-2 cloves of garlic; 1 tsp dried oregano; salt; pepper; vegetable oil for frying; 300-400 g tagliatelle pasta (or spaghetti, or any other pasta); parmesan for sprinkling

A hearty, delicious Italian pasta dish with a rich, meaty tomato sauce. Bolognese sauce hails from Bologna, in sunny Italy. Traditionally in Bologna itself, this fragrant meat sauce is served with tagliatelle (a type of long, wide ribbon pasta), which is exactly what I used to make this dish. Of course, the sauce will be just as tasty if you serve it with any other pasta — spaghetti, shells, penne, and so on. As for the sauce itself, it's important to use good-quality ground meat (ideally ground fresh at home). Use either fresh tomatoes, or — if they're out of season and you can't find good ones — canned tomatoes in their own juice. Adding heavy cream or milk to the sauce is optional. But in my opinion, it's much better with cream — it softens the acidity of the tomatoes, and the sauce takes on a well-rounded, balanced flavor. Oh, I almost forgot the most important thing: the sauce needs to simmer over very low heat for quite a long time — at least two hours. That may sound like a lot, but some cooks simmer the sauce for up to 4–5 hours. Thanks to the long, slow cooking, Bolognese sauce develops a wonderfully tender, velvety texture and practically melts in your mouth. This recipe makes approximately 4–6 servings of sauce.

Ingredients:

Bolognese Sauce:
500 g ground meat (beef, or half beef and half pork)
800 g canned tomatoes in their own juice (or the same amount of fresh tomatoes)
100 ml heavy cream 10-20% fat (or milk)
1 small onion (≈50g)
1 small carrot (≈50g)
1 celery stalk
1-2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
salt
pepper
vegetable oil for frying
For serving:
300-400 g tagliatelle pasta (or spaghetti, or any other pasta)
parmesan for sprinkling

How to cook tagliatelle with Bolognese sauce

Peel the onion and carrot. Dice the onion, carrot, and celery stalk into very, very small cubes.

Heat vegetable oil in a skillet. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for about 5 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally.

Add the ground meat and cook for about 5–10 minutes, until it is no longer pink. While cooking, use a spatula to break the meat up very thoroughly into small pieces, so the sauce has an even, uniform texture.

Add the crushed tomatoes along with their juice (I strained them through a colander beforehand to remove the seeds). If using fresh tomatoes, blanch them in boiling water, peel off the skins, and dice them. Add the finely minced garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper, and stir well.

Simmer over the lowest possible heat with the lid on for about two hours (or longer). This is what it looks like after the first hour of simmering.

About 20–30 minutes before the sauce is done, pour in the heavy cream, stir, and continue simmering. This is what it looks like after the second hour (already with the cream added).

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.

Place the pasta on a plate, spoon the sauce on top, and sprinkle with grated parmesan. If you prefer, you can toss everything together and serve it that way. Tagliatelle with Bolognese sauce is an incredibly delicious and satisfying Italian dish.