Traditional rag alla bolognese, with fresh egg tagliatelle
video description
Date: 2022-06-24
Related videos
Comments and reviews: 10
Mums
The first time I had this ragu in Italy was long before the internets, and I spent years and years trying to recreate it, because it was so lovely. I really love tomatoes, and I get how you can be disappointed if you expect tomatoes, but this is another thing. I feel it is in the same comfort food family as chicken soup or cauliflower cheese: bland, but in the best possible way. And apropos: definitely make a huge portion so you can freeze some sauce and use it later for a perfect lasagne with even more milk in the form of bechamel sauce and cheese (in lasagne, cheese is reccomended.
Here, (Europe but not Italy, one can buy a ready mixed beef/pork mince in every supermarket. I personally prefer just beef, and yes, a bit of chicken liver. Or I use a small sausage in place of the minced pork.
Some commenters have asked about using celeriac rather than celery. I use celeriac in the winter, when celery is pale and tasteless. But each to their own.
My grandmother was not Italian but she was fanatical about traditional recipes, and she grated the vegs. I don't always bother, but I have to say it adds deliciousness. (incidentally, we were together when I had that amazing ragu, and before that, she was suspicious of pasta dishes, but after having a bite of mine, she was transformed, and rapidly learnt how to cook an amazing lasagne bolognese both through reading books and by returning to that restaurant several times and learning from the cooks there. She NEVER shared recipes until much later when she couldn't stand up and had to order me around to get her preferred food.
reply
The first time I had this ragu in Italy was long before the internets, and I spent years and years trying to recreate it, because it was so lovely. I really love tomatoes, and I get how you can be disappointed if you expect tomatoes, but this is another thing. I feel it is in the same comfort food family as chicken soup or cauliflower cheese: bland, but in the best possible way. And apropos: definitely make a huge portion so you can freeze some sauce and use it later for a perfect lasagne with even more milk in the form of bechamel sauce and cheese (in lasagne, cheese is reccomended.
Here, (Europe but not Italy, one can buy a ready mixed beef/pork mince in every supermarket. I personally prefer just beef, and yes, a bit of chicken liver. Or I use a small sausage in place of the minced pork.
Some commenters have asked about using celeriac rather than celery. I use celeriac in the winter, when celery is pale and tasteless. But each to their own.
My grandmother was not Italian but she was fanatical about traditional recipes, and she grated the vegs. I don't always bother, but I have to say it adds deliciousness. (incidentally, we were together when I had that amazing ragu, and before that, she was suspicious of pasta dishes, but after having a bite of mine, she was transformed, and rapidly learnt how to cook an amazing lasagne bolognese both through reading books and by returning to that restaurant several times and learning from the cooks there. She NEVER shared recipes until much later when she couldn't stand up and had to order me around to get her preferred food.
reply
bazoo513
Adam, Adam, Adam, go to Wikipedia and listen to the pronunciation of tagliatelle. Why no American I met pronounces that gli remotely correctly? I suppose because English doesn't have that exact consonant. but then, you mispronounce gi, too, and you do have a similar sound.
As others said, there seem to be thousands of proper, traditional recipes. I saw one with no fewer than five kinds of meat, including chicken liver and mortadella. But meat, veggies, no garlic and little or no tomato, and, of course, milk or cream seem to be the invariant among them,
reply
Adam, Adam, Adam, go to Wikipedia and listen to the pronunciation of tagliatelle. Why no American I met pronounces that gli remotely correctly? I suppose because English doesn't have that exact consonant. but then, you mispronounce gi, too, and you do have a similar sound.
As others said, there seem to be thousands of proper, traditional recipes. I saw one with no fewer than five kinds of meat, including chicken liver and mortadella. But meat, veggies, no garlic and little or no tomato, and, of course, milk or cream seem to be the invariant among them,
reply
Jacob
I think the idea of there actually being a 'traditional' version of the dish, according to written records, is ultimately probably erroneous. People boiled up what they had, and ate it. Different areas had different abundances of different things, so a very meaty sauce, or a very tomatoey sauce, or a peppery sauce, an oniony sauce, etc, etc. would have become the thing people tended to eat in that area. But every family will have had its own traditions too, of course.
reply
I think the idea of there actually being a 'traditional' version of the dish, according to written records, is ultimately probably erroneous. People boiled up what they had, and ate it. Different areas had different abundances of different things, so a very meaty sauce, or a very tomatoey sauce, or a peppery sauce, an oniony sauce, etc, etc. would have become the thing people tended to eat in that area. But every family will have had its own traditions too, of course.
reply
M.
6: 23 I reckon fresh pasta doesn't absorb as much salt from salty water because it already has some water inside it, and the 2-3 minutes it boils for are not nearly enough time for the salinity levels to equalize inside & out of the pasta. Compare with dried pasta which (a) boils for longer and (b) has practically no water to begin with, so it soaks up far more during the boiling - which means it soaks up the salt too!
reply
6: 23 I reckon fresh pasta doesn't absorb as much salt from salty water because it already has some water inside it, and the 2-3 minutes it boils for are not nearly enough time for the salinity levels to equalize inside & out of the pasta. Compare with dried pasta which (a) boils for longer and (b) has practically no water to begin with, so it soaks up far more during the boiling - which means it soaks up the salt too!
reply
Chris
this is the closest i've seen to my grandmother's sauce. it's much heavier in tomato, very herb forward and the only part of a mirepiox used was the onion. how much was traditional, or how much much adapted to appeal the their southwestern clientele in the us, i can't speak too. never fit under classifications of ragu or bolognese. from here on i'm just calling it melatani.
reply
this is the closest i've seen to my grandmother's sauce. it's much heavier in tomato, very herb forward and the only part of a mirepiox used was the onion. how much was traditional, or how much much adapted to appeal the their southwestern clientele in the us, i can't speak too. never fit under classifications of ragu or bolognese. from here on i'm just calling it melatani.
reply
Chesko
Adam this is the second time I've seen you get an egg with two yolks
I've never even heard of a double yolker before I watched your videos, but based on the comments I've read on the last time you got one, I guess they're quite rare
What sorcerery did you commit to have this phenomenon happen to you twice, whilst I had never even known such a thing was possible?
reply
Adam this is the second time I've seen you get an egg with two yolks
I've never even heard of a double yolker before I watched your videos, but based on the comments I've read on the last time you got one, I guess they're quite rare
What sorcerery did you commit to have this phenomenon happen to you twice, whilst I had never even known such a thing was possible?
reply
OurTube
Was in Italy a week ago. Had cinghiale al pappardelle in rome and it was a similar milk sauce. Good, but my favorite pasta was between a pepperoncini aglio e olio in Florence and this incredible crab and cherry tomato spaghetti in Venice. I spent a week and I can already tell I m going to be trying to capture those flavors for years.
reply
Was in Italy a week ago. Had cinghiale al pappardelle in rome and it was a similar milk sauce. Good, but my favorite pasta was between a pepperoncini aglio e olio in Florence and this incredible crab and cherry tomato spaghetti in Venice. I spent a week and I can already tell I m going to be trying to capture those flavors for years.
reply
Zephyrling
Re: why fresh pasta doesn t absorb as much salt from the water as dried pasta, maybe it s because the fresh pasta already has moisture in it and doesn t need to absorb as much water (and salt, in turn. In contrast, dried pasta absorbs all its moisture from the boiling water so it (perhaps) more readily absorbs water (and salt.
reply
Re: why fresh pasta doesn t absorb as much salt from the water as dried pasta, maybe it s because the fresh pasta already has moisture in it and doesn t need to absorb as much water (and salt, in turn. In contrast, dried pasta absorbs all its moisture from the boiling water so it (perhaps) more readily absorbs water (and salt.
reply
phillies4eva
I really like that you didn't use much tomato in this amazing sauce. My recipe is nearly the same as yours but with beef stock instead of chicken.
Anyway I have a sensitivity to tomatoes so I love a good recipe that doesn't call for a ton of tomatoes. I add sour cream if I want more acidity. Tastes amazing.
Cheers
reply
I really like that you didn't use much tomato in this amazing sauce. My recipe is nearly the same as yours but with beef stock instead of chicken.
Anyway I have a sensitivity to tomatoes so I love a good recipe that doesn't call for a ton of tomatoes. I add sour cream if I want more acidity. Tastes amazing.
Cheers
reply
Davis
I probably heard this from someone so I can't take too much credit for the theory, but as it goes: fresh pasta doesn't get properly seasoned from the water it's cooked in because it cooks so quickly. The decreased cooking time doesn't allow the fresh pasta to absorb the salt from the cooking water.
reply
I probably heard this from someone so I can't take too much credit for the theory, but as it goes: fresh pasta doesn't get properly seasoned from the water it's cooked in because it cooks so quickly. The decreased cooking time doesn't allow the fresh pasta to absorb the salt from the cooking water.
reply
Add a review, comment
Other channel videos
