Bologna
3 hours
Bologna: Pasta Tagliatelle al Ragu Cooking Class with Wine
Learn to cook like a local in a typical Bologna home. Get hands-on help preparing your own lunch or dinner from a friendly chef during this activity.
from€59Check dates
History
The Bolognese ragu took shape in the 18th-century kitchens of the Emilian nobility, with the first written recipe attributed to Pellegrino Artusi's 1891 La Scienza in Cucina. The Camera di Commercio of Bologna deposited the official legal recipe on 17 October 1982: minced beef cartella, pancetta, soffritto of carrot-celery-onion, tomato passata, white wine, milk and beef stock, simmered three hours and bound to tagliatelle 8mm wide. The same Camera deposited the legal tagliatelle width: 8mm cooked, the 12,270th part of the Torre Asinelli height. Trattoria Anna Maria and All'Osteria Bottega serve canonical versions.
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Common allergens: Gluten, Egg, Dairy
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 400g fresh egg tagliatelle (or 350g dried)
- 300g minced beef cartella or chuck
- 150g pancetta, finely diced
- 1 medium carrot, finely diced
- 1 celery stick, finely diced
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 150ml dry white wine
- 300ml whole milk
- 300g tomato passata
- 500ml beef stock, warm
- Sea salt, black pepper, freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Method
- In a heavy casserole, render the pancetta over medium heat for 5 minutes until the fat melts. Add the soffritto (carrot, celery, onion) and sweat for 12 to 15 minutes until very soft.
- Push the soffritto to the edges and add the minced beef in clumps. Brown for 10 minutes without breaking the meat up too much, salting halfway through.
- Pour in the white wine and let it bubble away for 4 minutes. Add the milk and simmer until it reduces and the meat absorbs it, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato passata and 250ml of the warm stock. Bring to a bare simmer, partly cover and cook 2 hours 30 minutes, topping up stock as needed. The sauce should remain loose and glossy, not dry.
- Cook the tagliatelle in salted water for 2 to 3 minutes (fresh) or 7 to 9 minutes (dried). Drain, reserving a ladle of pasta water.
- Toss the tagliatelle in the ragu over low heat for 60 seconds, loosening with pasta water as needed. Serve immediately with a generous shaving of Parmigiano Reggiano on top.
Tip from the editors. Use beef cartella over lean mince; the connective tissue is what makes the sauce silky. Tagliatelle is the only correct shape in Bologna.
Where to eat tagliatelle al ragu
Tagliatelle al ragu in Bologna
Trattoria Anna Maria ★ 4.6
Trattoria Anna Maria in Bologna near Via Zamboni is the city's most-photographed sfoglia trattoria, run by Anna Maria Monari since 1985 with hand-rolled.
OrderTagliatelle al ragu, tortellini in brodo, lasagne verdi, gnocco fritto.
TipBook a week ahead for dinner. Lunch is calmer and the sfogline still hand-roll pasta in the window between services.
All'Osteria Bottega ★ 4.7
All'Osteria Bottega is saragozza's 28-seat osteria from daniele minarelli and valeria tonelli; the canonical emilian carte at full editorial precision.
Why locals goSaragozza's 28-seat osteria from Daniele Minarelli and Valeria Tonelli; the canonical Emilian carte at full editorial precision.
TipBook three weeks ahead by phone; the room seats 28 and the lunch service has the easiest tables.
Da Cesari ★ 4.4
Da Cesari in Bologna's Centro Storico is the four-generation Carati family trattoria, operating since 1955, a steady room for the canonical Bolognese carte.
OrderTagliatelle al ragu, cotoletta alla bolognese, friggione on the side.
TipBook a fortnight ahead by phone; the family carte does not change and the wine cellar is run by Massimiliano Carati personally.
Trattoria di Via Serra ★ 4.7
Trattoria di Via Serra (Italian) in Bologna: Book three weeks ahead online; lunch is the easier seating and the kitchen runs the same carte at both meals.
Why locals goBolognina's quiet, neighbourhood-scaled trattoria; the tagliatelle al ragu is the city's most-cited by editors but tourists never wander north of the station.
TipBook three weeks ahead online; lunch is the easier seating and the kitchen runs the same carte at both meals.
Osteria dell'Orsa ★ 4.2
Osteria dell'Orsa in Bologna's University quarter is the canonical 1979-founded student trattoria, a no-reservations canteen for tagliatelle al ragu at 8.
TryTagliatelle al ragu
TipWalk-in only; arrive before 12:00 for lunch or after 21:30 for dinner. Cash and card both fine.
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