Getting Drunk on Bolognese Pasta

Let me tell you a little secret about me. The first pasta dish I ever ate was a Bolognese attempt, and for many years during my childhood, I lived with the firm belief that that was the only pasta recipe available. Yep, funny me.

Anyhow, as I grew up and started to play with recipes, I wanted to create the ultimate Bolognese Pasta dish to compensate for all the years in which I lived in a lie.

Before starting, I want to highlight that this is not the original version, nor do I claim it is better than what you will eat if visiting Bologna. But this is my version, and I love every bite of it.

• The first thing you will have to start with is the pasta dough. If you do have a pasta machine, I strongly suggest making your own pasta. It is easy and worth it. However, if you don't have a pasta machine, please buy fresh tagliatelle and not dry ones.
• To make the pasta dough, simply mix all ingredients until they form a nice dough. Knead it for a couple of minutes, then wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge.

You will be left with 6 egg whites. I recommend you freeze and use them for other recipes. I am an egg white hoarder, and you will most probably see many of my recipes in which I use them and not the whole egg. Anyway, moving on.

• While the pasta is resting in the fridge, let's focus on the ragu.
• If you have a whole piece of chuck, you will need to grind it using a meat grinder. I prefer whole pieces to minced meat because I know exactly what I am using. However, you don't have to be a control freak like me, and you can ask your butcher to grind the meat for you.
• Now, take your minced meat and form a few meatballs that are the size of a tennis ball.
• Prepare a cast iron pot on the stove on medium heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and after 30 seconds or so put the meatballs in it and let them fry for a couple of minutes on each side.

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• Put the onion, celery, and carrot in a food processor and mince them very finely.
• Take the pieces of beef out of the pot and leave them to rest on a plate. With a paper towel absorb half of the oil. Add the chopped bacon and fry it for a couple of minutes before returning the beef.

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• Bring the veggie mixture to the pot, then put the meat back in, and crush it with a wooden spoon. Pour in the alcohol (Marsala wine and Vermut), stir and leave it on low heat for 10-15 minutes.

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• Add the tomato paste, milk, chicken stock, and spices. Stir to combine and leave it at a low temperature for 2 hours. If you see that you remain without liquid, add more stock.

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• After two hours, cut the mushrooms into 2-3 cm chunks. Heat up the remaining olive oil in a pan and fry them until they are reduced to half of their size.

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• Mix the mushrooms with the ragu and wait for the pasta.

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If you are working with store-bought pasta, simply follow the package's instructions and boil your pasta.

• For the rest of you, please keep on reading.
• Cover your dough with more semolina and cut it into 4 pieces. Take each part and start rolling out the dough using your pasta machine. Work your way from the thickest position and gradually go down with one level at each roll. I never go further than number 5 for tagliatelle, but please feel free to do so if you want thinner pasta.

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• Once you have the lasagna sheets, make a roll-out of each one and cut them into 1 cm tubes.

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• Unroll each piece and you will get yourself beautiful tagliatelle pasta.

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• Bring a big pot of water with salt to a boil. Once it reaches the boiling point, add your pasta and cook them for 4 minutes.
• When ready, mix the pasta with the ragu, using a couple of tablespoons of the boiling water as well.
• Plate the pasta and use as much or as little parmesan as you like.

So, the Bolognese Ragu gets its name from its place of birth, which is the beautiful Italian city of Bologna. The first time this recipe was mentioned in a cookbook was in the 18th century and was linked to Alberto Alvisi, Pope Pius VII's cook.

Today, Bolognese Ragu comes in many versions, some of them containing all initial ingredients, while others are simply adaptations. There are even vegan versions of this traditional sauce, and honestly, some of them are really tasty. This being said, feel free to add and change any components of this recipe you wish.

* You can replace my alcoholic mixture with either white or red wine. I tried all versions, and this is what I like best.

** You can freeze both the ragu and the pasta dough if you end up having too much composition. However, store them separately.

*** Don't forget to tag us along so we can see your take on the Bolognese Pasta.

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