Tagliatelle alla Bolognese by Antonio Carluccio

Antonio Carluccio demonstrates how to make a classic Bolognese pasta dish, from his Two Greedy Italians cook book

Ingredients

500 g17¾ oz fresh pasta, cut into tagliatelle or 500g dried tagliatelle
Semolina, for dusting (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
80 g2¾ oz parmesan, freshly grated

For the sauce:

1 large white onion, finely chopped
50 g1¾ oz butter or 50ml extra virgin olive oil
500 g17¾ oz mixed pork and veal mince
100 ml3½ fl oz dry white wine
100 g3½ oz concentrated tomato paste
680 g24 oz polpa di pomodoro or chunky passata

Method: How to make Tagliatelle alla Bolognese

To make the tagliatelle, cut your pasta sheets into manageable sizes and run through the tagliatelle cutter on your machine. As the tagliatelle come out of the machine, gently roll into nests and lay on a flat tray sprinkled with some semolina. Alternatively, fold your pasta sheets into a loose roll and cut into ribbons of the desired width.

For the sauce, fry the onion in the butter or oil until soft, for about five minutes, then add the mince and brown, stirring to break up any large lumps. Add the wine and allow to evaporate, then stir in the tomato paste and tomato pulp. Cover with a lid and heat until bubbling. Remove the lid and leave to simmer gently for two hours. If the sauce becomes too thick, you can add a little stock or water.

When the sauce is ready, cook the tagliatelle in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente. This should take 3-4 minutes if fresh and 8-10 minutes if dried.

Drain and mix together with the sauce.

Season to taste, sprinkle with the freshly grated Parmesan and serve immediately.