Madhouse recipe : Tagliatelle with Ragu Sauce from scratch

Cirio have recently released a new recipe book full of delicious dishes that are simple to make and bursting with flavours from Italy. They sent me a selection of their products, along with one of the recipes to try out -  Tagliatelle with Ragu Sauce. Ragu Sauce, or spag bol as it has been unceremoniously renamed by the majority of Brits, has been a staple of my diet since my student days. It's simple to prepare, but also simple to get wrong. For some, it involves using a pack of extra value pasta and a jar of bolognese sauce, which is unlikely to get great results. For others, me included, it usually involves a sauce made from scratch and a pack of supermarket spaghetti. I do occasionally buy fresh pasta from the chilled aisle, but I'd never thought about making it from scratch, assuming I'd need one of those fancy pasta makers that you see on cookery programmes.

Cirio's recipe shows just how easy it is to make a simple egg pasta from scratch though - Pierre had great fun and was totally blown away by the fact that he had produced something that he thought could only be found on supermarket shelves ! Many people also don’t realise that the quality of the tinned tomatoes that they choose to add to their cooking can make a huge difference to the taste, consistency and quality of any dish. Cirio is one of the highest quality brands of tinned tomatoes on the market, and is made lovingly in Italy for an authentic Italian flavour. Additionally, the health benefits of tomatoes cannot be disputed - tinned tomatoes in particular contain more Lycopene than fresh tomatoes, which is good for the heart and proven to reduce the risk of cancer.

Above all, it's a simple dish that can be made with nothing but store cupboard staples, even after a busy day at work, and that the whole family will enjoy.

Tagliatelle with ragu sauce

Serves 4 

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

1 onion

1 carrot

2 garlic cloves

butter

extra virgin olive oil

red wine

Cirio tomato puree

500 g mixed minced meat

500 ml Cirio Passata

sugar/salt 

Start by making 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.

During this time, you can 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.

Back to the pasta. Flatten the dough with a rolling pin and roll into thin pasta sheets less than 1mm thick.

Cut into 7mm strips. To prevent the dough sticking dust with flour.

Cook the tagliatelle in boiling salted water for three minutes. Drain the pasta and serve topped with the ragu.

Disclosure : Recipe and some ingredients provided by Cirio.