Spaghetti con Ragù alla Bolognese (Tomato Meat Sauce)
Pasta con
ragu' is my Italian comfort food. After splurging on different
contemporary dishes, it's a relief to go back to basic and taste this
familiar tomato and meat sauce sprinkled with a torrential amount of
parmigiano reggiano. Ragu'
is the tomato and meat sauce popularized worldwide with the name
bolognese. It's actually ragu' alla bolognese. Bolognese signifies
that it comes from Bologna, Italy.
Like any other classic dish in Italy, every family holds on to a recipe
passed on from the grandmothers of the grandmothers. More often than
not, the ragu' is usually excellent, whatever variation it may be. The
meat can vary from pancetta, salsiccia, ground pork, veal, beef,
chicken, rabbit & wild boar. The pasta that is associated with it
is tagliatelle. Then there are also pappardelle, spaghetti, pici, and so on.
When in Tuscany, I can never stop myself from ordering pici al ragu' di cinghiale
or wild boar in the restaurants. It's an addiction. Pici is a type of
handmade pasta that is made of water, flour & some eggs. It is a
specialty of the southern part of Tuscany, specifically Siena. A trip
to Tuscany cannot end without a conclusive plate of this more than
wonderful pasta. When my husband and I still had a lot
of time in our hands (Sigh. When no kids have taken over our time yet.), we would drive for 5 hours
back and forth to Montepulciano just to have a plate of pici in Ristorante L'Angolo
where the grandmother of the owner was still doing the pasta with her own
hands. And the ragu' di cinghiale is without a doubt, the best I have
ever tried. We never regretted the 5-hour drive! Even if it's less
frequent now, we still include a lunch there whenever we are passing
through.
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| Pici al ragu' di cinghiale in a restaurant in Siena, Tuscany. |
I have had my ragu' recipe for
about 11 years and never looked for another one after my first dry run.
I got it from a pasta packaging and thought of giving it a try. I was
curious about its exclusive use of tomato concentrate instead of a can
of tomato sauce or pulp. I just took away the butter from the original
recipe and decided to use 100% extra virgin olive oil, I lessened the
garlic and added more water because the sauce keeps on drying up. The
first time I cooked it was such a hit that everyone gave me compliments
even after months they tried it. No one believed me that I just lifted
the recipe from a pasta packaging. Who actually takes these recipes
seriously? Me. And it's a good thing I did or I wouldn't have
discovered this delicious ragu' recipe that I will pass on to my kids
then to their kids and so on.
Spaghetti con Ragu' alla Bolognese
Ingredients:Serves 4
- 260 g. tomato concentrate or paste
- 250 ml. Marsala wine
- 250 ml. water
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 200 g. ground veal or beef
- 200 g. ground pork
- 250 g. passata di pomodoro (tomato puree)
- salt & pepper
- parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated
- 400 g. spaghetti
Directions:
- In a bowl, mix the tomato concentrate, Marsala and water then set aside.
- Over medium heat, in a saucepan, sautè the garlic with extra virgin olive oil. When it turns golden brown, discard.
- Add the chopped onion & carrot. Toast for about 3 minutes then add the meat.
- Pour the tomato concentrate mixture & tomato puree when the meat changes color. Cover. Simmer for an hour on low fire. Stir occasionally. If the sauce is drying up, add hot water.
- Season with salt & pepper.
- While waiting for the sauce to cook, boil the water for the spaghetti. Put a generous amount of salt when the water boils. Cook the spaghetti following the number of minutes suggested in the package.
- When the spaghetti is cooked, mix with the ragù. Sprinkle a generous amount of grated parmigiano reggiano.
