Tagliatelle al Ragù alla Bolognese

Ingredients

• 400g coarsely minced beef skirt or chuck
• 150g fresh pork pancetta, finely chopped
• 60g onion
• 60g carrot
• 60g celery
• 150ml dry white or red wine
• 200g tomato passata
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 200ml whole milk
• 500ml light beef or vegetable stock
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 300g plain 00 flour
• 3 large eggs
• 80g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

Before you cook

• Chop the onion, carrot and celery very finely by hand rather than in a processor, so they melt instead of turning to purée
• Chop the pancetta finely with a knife until it is almost a paste
• Heap the flour on a board, make a deep well and break in the eggs
• Warm the stock in a small pan and keep it beside the hob

Steps

1. Put the chopped pancetta and olive oil into a heavy pot and set it over medium-low heat.
2. Cook the pancetta for about 5 minutes, until the fat has melted and the pot smells sweet.
3. Add the chopped onion, carrot and celery and cook them for 10 minutes, stirring, until soft and translucent but not coloured.
4. Add the minced beef and break it up with a wooden spoon.
5. Cook the meat for about 10 minutes over medium heat, until the water it releases has boiled away and it begins to sizzle in the fat.
6. Pour in the wine and let it bubble until the alcohol smell is completely gone, about 4 minutes.
7. Stir in the tomato purée and cook it for a minute to take off the raw edge.
8. Add the passata and a ladle of hot stock, then season lightly with salt and pepper.
9. Bring the ragù to a bare simmer, cover the pot with the lid slightly ajar and leave it for 2 hours, adding hot stock whenever it looks dry.
10. Pour in the milk after the first hour and let it reduce away completely before adding more stock.
11. Beat the eggs into the flour with a fork, drawing in flour from the walls of the well until a shaggy dough forms.
12. Knead the dough on a lightly floured board for a solid 10 minutes, until it is smooth, tight and slightly springy.
13. Wrap the dough and rest it at room temperature for 30 minutes.
14. Roll the dough out thinly enough to read newsprint through it, either by hand with a long pin or through a pasta machine down to the second-thinnest setting.
15. Dust the sheets, let them dry for 10 minutes, then roll each loosely and cut it into ribbons 6mm wide.
16. Shake the tagliatelle into loose nests on a floured tray.
17. Check the ragù after 2 to 3 hours of simmering: it should be a deep orange-brown, creamy and holding together rather than swimming in liquid.
18. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and drop in the tagliatelle.
19. Cook the fresh pasta for 2 to 3 minutes only, until it floats and loses its floury bite.
20. Drain the pasta and tip it into the warm ragù with a splash of cooking water.
21. Toss the pasta and ragù together over low heat for 30 seconds.
22. Serve with grated Parmigiano Reggiano at the table.