Next best thing to being in Italy
If you’re currently dreaming of Italy like we are, then we’ve got the perfect dish for you to make you feel like you’re dining on the Amalfi Coast – well, as close as you’re going to get right now.
With the majority of people stay at home right now, the Italian Way UAE has partnered with some of the top restaurants across the country to bring hearty Italian dishes right into your home.
Dubai-based eatery BiCE Ristorante’s head chef Davide Gardini has shared a “store cupboard staple” which you can make from the comfort of you’re own home.
Given you’ll have more time on your hands, you can even tackle the oh-so daunting task of making pasta from scratch with Chef Gardini’s easy-to-follow recipe.
Enter Tagliatelle Al Ragu, or tagliatelle with beef bolognese sauce if you’re not familiar with the Italian language.
Here’s all the ingredients you’ll need for the dish:
Ragu
- 800g Chuck of beef (or sirloin)
- 200g Boneless chicken leg
- 100g Celery
- 100g Carrots
- 100g Onion
- Extra virgin olive oil 100ml
- 50g Tomato paste
- 700g Peeled tomatoes
- 500ml Vegetable broth
- 3 Bay leaves
- 5 Cloves
- Nutmeg to taste
- Salt to taste
- Black Pepper to taste
Pasta dough
- 400g Flour
- 5 Whole eggs
- 2g Fine salt
The method for making the Ragu:
- • Preheat a large pan, before drizzling it with extra virgin olive oil.
- Dice your carrots, celery and onions.
- Once the pan is sizzling, add your chopped carrots. Cook until golden
- Add celery and fry until it has softened.
- Mix in your onions and cook together for 2 minutes, stirring regularly to avoiding sticking, before adding in your cloves and bay leaves.
- Once the vegetables are nicely coloured, add your minced meat and cook until golden brown, and all the liquid from the meat evaporates
- Sprinkle in your salt, pepper and freshly ground nutmeg to taste.
- Mix in your tomato paste well to ensure even spread across all ingredients. • Pour in the vegetable broth to add moisture to the dish.
- Once the pan starts to boil, add your peeled tomatoes.
- Adjust the heat to medium-low heat and allow to simmer for about 2 hours, taking care to add a little vegetable broth from time to time if the sauce appears to be drying out.
The method for the pasta:
- Arrange flour in a bowl, before mixing in salt and eggs – one by one.
- Combine until dough becomes smooth and lump free.
- Wrap dough with cling film and leave it to rest for 20 minutes.
- Once rested, cut the dough into 4 pieces of 120g each.
- Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough to a thickness of 2mm.
- Fold the dough in half, and then in half again.
- Cut strips 2 cm wide.
- Prepare a pot of boiling, salted water.
- Add your pasta for 3 minutes.
- Once cooked, drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the ragu.
- Top of with Parmigiano cheese and serve hot.
Johanna Emma Olsson
