Tagliolini pasta with ragù sauce
The ragù in this dish is a meat-based sauce comprising several ingredients and requiring slow cooking. The slower, the better!
• 700g beef chuck steak, cut into 4-5 cm cubes
• 2 roulades of beef neck, stuffed with parsley, grated parmesan or pecorino cheese, garlic and pine nuts
• 2 pork ribs
• 1 onion
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 1 glass red wine
• 2.5 litres tomato passata
• 140g tomato paste
• 400g tagliolini pasta
1. Sauté minced onion in olive oil in a clay pot. Add the meat and sear on all sides, stirring constantly so that onion doesn’t burn but softens and reduces.
2. Once the meat is browned and the onion translucent, splash with wine and cook until the alcohol has evaporated. Add the tomato paste and allow the juices to thicken before pouring in the passata. Lower to minimum heat and cover the pot, leaving a wooden spoon between the lid and the edge of the pot. Simmer for at least 6 hours. Stir often to keep sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
3. The final result should be a very thick, dark red sauce with intense flavour.
4. Cook pasta until al dente and dress with the rich sauce.
5. When you’ve finished your pasta don’t forget to “clean” you plate with a scarpetta (tiny shoe), a small piece of bread used to mop up the last of the sauce.
(Of course, the meat in the sauce can be eaten as a main course: you get two dishes with one recipe!)