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Tagliatelle with Ragu Sauce
Tagliatelle with ragu sauce is a delicious and simple meal which is perfect for a mid-week meal. The sauce freezes well so make extra and freeze for another day.
Mid-week meals can be some of the hardest to prepare. When you have been busy at work all day you get home tired and hungry. You want something that is tasty and quick to make.
Tagliatelle with ragu sauce is perfect. It is easy and ready in around forty minutes when made from scratch. You can also make it ahead of time. When you get in cook the pasta and heat the sauce. This takes around fifteen minutes.
Tagliatelle with Ragu Sauce
Tagliatelle with ragu sauce is a recipe from a new book from Cirio. The book is full of delicious dishes which are simple to make and full of Italian flavour. There are recipes for everyone, whether you want a hearty warming dish or are looking for a dish to help you with your new year health kick.
Cirio produces high-quality tomato products which are made in Italy for an authentic Italian flavour. Think tinned tomatoes, passata, tomato purée and many more. I find when using them in cooking they add a great depth and flavour to the final dish.
As well as being tasty tomatoes also have health benefits. They are high in lycopene which is good for the heart and reduces the risk of cancer. Tinned tomatoes have higher levels than fresh tomatoes so why not stock up? Tinned tomatoes are great for so many different dishes so are a store cupboard essential.
Read more: Simple tomato relish using tinned tomatoes
How do you make ragu sauce from scratch?
Ragu sauce is an Italian sauce typically made with minced meat, onions, tomato purée, and red wine. While you can buy jars of ragu sauce they do not have the same flavour as home-made ragu sauce. It is really quick and easy to make and worth the effort.
The sauce starts with a soffritto. This is a mix of chopped onions, celery and carrots which cook slowly until they soften. Add a little tomato puree and the minced meat. While minced beef is the usual choice, veal, pork, lamb, poultry and even fish can also be used. Cook until dry and brown then add some red wine. Once this has evaporated add some tomato sauce. Simmer until soft and serve over tagliatelle or another pasta.
Make ahead: Ragu can be made up to 2 days ahead. When ready chiil uncovered until cold. Cover and keep in the fridge. Make sure you rewarm it thoroughly before you serve. It can also be frozen for later so why not make double the amount and freeze half?
What is the difference between ragu and bolognese sauce?
Ragu covers a wide range of pasta sauces which usually are made of meat in tomato sauce. There are subtle differences between the different types of ragu dependent on the region of Italy they come from.
Ragu alla bolognese or bolognese is a variation of ragu that originated in Bologna in the 15th Century. It is made from a mix of ground pork and veal, with less tomatoes and a little milk. It is slowly simmered for 2-3 hours to provide a greater depth of flavour.
Read more: The ultimate spaghetti bolognese
There are many different types of ragu sauce and all of them make delicious meals. Most cooks have their own favourite recipe and there are also many regional variations between the sauces.
Home made pasta
This recipe for tagliatelle with ragu sauce also has a recipe for making home-made tagliatelle. It turns out that pasta is quite easy to make. You just need to mix flour with eggs and olive oil to make a dough. After chilling in the fridge for thirty minutes you can roll it out and cut it into strips. There is no need for a pasta machine.
Of course if you want to make a meal in a hurry you can always use shop bought pasta. It is not quite as nice as freshly made pasta but easy to cook. The other alternative is to make the pasta dough the night before. After you make the sauce just cut the pasta up and let it boil for five minutes.
Tagliatelle with ragu sauce recipe
Tagliatelle with ragu sauce
Ingredients
For the classical egg pasta
- 200 g flour
- 2 eggs
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt to taste
For the ragu sauce
- 1 stick of celery
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp Cirio tomato puree
- 100 ml Red wine
- 500 g minced meat
- 500 ml Cirio Passata
- sugar and salt for seasoning
Instructions
To make the pasta
- Beat the eggs with a dash of olive oil and salt
- Add the flour to make a firm and elastic dough
- Wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for half an hour
- Flatten the dough with a rolling pin and roll into thin pasta sheets less than `mm thick
- Cut into 7mm strips
- To prevent the dough sticking dust with flour
To make the ragu sauce
- Finely chop the celery, carrot, onion and garlic
- Lightly fry the vegetables in the olive oil then add some tomato puree
- Add the minced meat and cook until brown and quite dry
- Pour in the red wine and cook until it evaporates
- Add the passata and bring to the boil
- Check the taste, add sugar to make it less acid and salt for seasoning
- Cook the tagliatelle in boiling salted water for three minutes.
- Drain the pasta and serve topped with the ragu
Why not pin the recipe for later?
What are your favourite quick mid-week meals? Let me know below.
Richard@Pool Sunday says
I made this yesterday and it turned out great. I made some modifications since it was just for 2 people. I had only ground beef which turned out fine. In my research for a ragu sauce I noticed a lot of other chefs add a little nutmeg. It tasted a lot like the ragu sauces I had in Italy. I can’t wait to make it again.
Thanks for your sharing!