Tagliatelle with Bolognese Ragu
Posted: 08 March '10 by Niall
Tagliatelle with Bolognese Ragu
Last weekend I thought I’d make one of my favourite dishes, Bolognese.. A really simple meal that has a million and one recipes for it.
This is the best recipe for Bolognese that I know of and it produces a very tasty, authentic Italian meal. You’ll be surprised by a few of the ingredients – minced pork for instance, and milk too – and by the absence of garlic. The dish is delicious though, and much more flavoursome than the basic spag bol I would make during the week.
One of the most important things to remember is that a lot of Italian dishes start with the same three ingredients: celery, onion, and carrot. I think that the carrot gives a slight sweetness to the dish but, other than this, you won’t notice any discernible flavour from the basic ingredients – they just help to make a more robust and mouth-watering sauce.
The recipe also calls for Tagliatelle rather than Spaghetti. Depending on where you are in Italy, this is either complete blasphemy or the proper way to make Bolognese. For me, I have to say that I prefer the Tagliatelle – it feels much more authentic as it lends itself to the “mix the sauce through the pasta” approach and holds more of the sauce than Spaghetti would.
Making Bolognese Ragu really is a weekend job though as it takes over three hours to cook – but it’s worth every minute.
You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- 400g minced beef
- 400g minced pork
- 100g pancetta, roughly chopped
- 100g onion, finely chopped
- 100g carrot, finely chopped
- 100g celery, finely chopped
- 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
- 1 glass of dry white wine
- 500ml fresh milk
- 200ml of chicken stock
- 3 bay leaves
- Pepper and salt
- 500g Tagliatelle
Method:
- Place the pancetta in a large, deep saucepan with some olive oil on a low heat until the fat has melted and the pancetta has a nice golden colour.
- Add the onion, stirring until the onion is translucent.
- Add the carrot and celery and the bay leaves and keep cooking until the vegetables start to soften and get some colour.
- Place the minced meat in a bowl and add some seasoning. Mix the meat together with your hands.
- Increase the heat to just above medium and add the minced meat. Keep cooking and stirring the mixture until the meat has browned.
- Pour in the white wine and stir through the mixture, cooking the ingredients until the wine has evaporated.
- Reduce the heat and add the chopped tomatoes, mixing them through the meat.
- Leave the mixture on the heat for at least 2 hours. Check your sauce regularly during this time – if the tomatoes reduce too much just add some beef stock. By the end of the two hours you should have an intense, thick tomato sauce.
- Now, add the milk and some chicken stock, stirring them through your sauce. Leave this mixture over a low heat for another hour.
- Remove the sauce from the heat, season to taste, and leave to rest.
- In a separate saucepan, add some water and a good pinch of salt and bring to the boil.
- Add your tagliatelle and cook until the pasta has softened.
- Drain your pasta and add several spoonfuls of your Bolognese Ragu, mixing the sauce through the pasta.
- Serve with some grated parmesan.
Enjoy!
Tags: italian food, pasta, recipe
Categories: Beef : Featured Post : Italian Food : Main Course : Recipes
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Carluccio’s now delivering to Northern Ireland!
Posted: 22 February '10 by Niall
Carluccio's delivering to Northern Ireland
When Kelly and I visit London our itinerary always includes at least one meal (and a bottle of wine or two) at a Carluccio’s restaurant. Aside from the delicious, authentic Italian food, the friendly staff, and the pocket-saving prices, the in-store deli is a treasure-trove of mouth-watering treats: from truffle butter to dried porcini, imported Italian liqueurs and wines to specialty chocolates.
Carluccio’s was founded in 1991 by chef Antonio Carluccio and has flourished ever since, with 43 locations across mainland UK. When we noticed that they had opened a branch in Dublin (March 2008) Kelly and I were over-the-moon, hoping that a Belfast location was on the cards.
While we’re waiting, however, we can now get our Carluccio’s “fix” online. Until recently they couldn’t deliver to Northern Ireland – but that has all changed! So, as a special treat for Kelly, I ordered a box of Italian delicacies..
You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2
The delivery from Carluccio’s
- Limoncello Di Sorrento 70cl – £19.50
- Vin Santo D.o.c. 37.5 Cl – £16.50
- Cantucci Al Cioccolato (Chocolate Cantucci Tuscan Biscuits) 300g – £4.95
- Burro Al Tartufo (Truffle Butter) 80g – £4.95
- Sugo Al Nero Di Seppia (Cuttlefish Ink Sauce) 140g – £2.95
- Limoncello Di Sorrento
- Limoncello is a lemon liqueur from Southern Italy, and Sorrento in particular. Served after a meal, it’s an intensely lemon-flavoured digestif that was particularly to Kelly’s liking.
- Vin Santo and Cantucci Al Cioccolato
- A Tuscan dessert wine, and similar in some ways to sherry. We followed the directions from Carluccio’s an dunked our Cantucci biscuits into the sweet, fiery drink which really enhanced the almond flavour of the biscuits. Delicious, and a nice way to finish a meal when you have guests for dinner.
- Burro Al Tartufo
- The truffle butter is the one product that we longed for when Carluccio’s didn’t deliver to Northern Ireland – we’d lament the delivery policy as we salivated over the thought of the white, creamy butter infused with the dark, earthy flavours and aromas of the truffle. We enjoyed ours on toasted crusty bread, which was delicious – but I have a feeling that the scrambled eggs with a dollop of truffle-butter melting over the top that we have planned will be amazing.
- Sugo Al Nero Di Seppia
- We haven’t tried this yet – but I have a great recipe for Spaghetti in Squid Ink Sauce. Make sure you check the blog in the near future for the recipe and photos of how I got on.
What we thought
Finding ingredients and specialist goods in Northern Ireland can be frustrating – impossible, at times – but with the change in the delivery policy at Carluccio’s a world of authentic Italian tastes are a mouse-click away.
We both loved the various products – each and every one was delicious and had us looking up the site to see what else we could order.
The delivery charge was £5.60 – it sounds a lot but, considering the weight of our parcel, I thought that it was fair enough.
You might have already picked up on the fact that we love Carluccio’s.
Other information
You can visit Carluccio’s online at: www.carluccios.com/.
After some wrangling over their rental agreement for the Dawson Street premises in Dublin, and after the reported closure of the Dublin branch, I’m pleased to report that all is well. A week after closing it’s doors an agreement was reached between the restaurant chain and the landlord, saving around 60 jobs and ensuring the future of one of our favourite restaurants in Dublin.
You can find Carluccio’s in Dublin at:
Carluccio’s
53 Dawson Street
Dublin 2
T: (01) 6333957
W: www.carluccios.com
You can also find Carluccio’s – Dublin on Google Maps.
Tags: italian food, news
Categories: England : Local Food Heroes : News : Product Reviews : United Kingdom
