Recipe - Tagliatelle al Ragu`

Thanks to Ania and her grandmother for the recipe and instruction!

I would suggest assembling the sauce first, and then letting it simmer while you make the pasta.

Ragu`

For four people

Ingredients:

1/2 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

Oil

2 cans tomato sauce

2/3 - 1 lb ground beef, chopped

1/2 Italian (pork) sausage, chopped

*you can also use other meats, such as veal or chicken, which will result in a different flavor)

1) Put 1/2 cup oil in a pan on the stove, add onions, let them brown for abo

ut three minutes, then add carrots and celery. Leave on low heat.

2) In another pan, cover the bottom with oil and add the meat. As it is cooking, the meat should lose water. However, if it doesn't, add some.

3) Add some salt to each pan and continue to let them cook on low heat, stirring occasionally.

4) When the meat is browned, add it to the vegetables. There should be enough liquid to cover the mixture. If there isn't, add some.

5) Add salt, pepper, to taste.

6) Let the sauce simmer until the water evaporates, then add tomato sauce to the desired consistency.

*For a better sauce, put a lid on the pan before Step 6 and let the mixture cook for about an hour, then remove the lid and continue to Step 6.

Tagliatelle

For four people

Ingredients:

2 cups flour (the finer, the better)

4 eggs

1) Start with the two cups of flour on a clean, flat surface.

2) Crack the four eggs into a well in the middle of the flour heap.

3) Gradually mix eggs into the flour, by hand!

4) Add flour as needed, until the dough is tough and no longer sticky at all (better more flour than less).

5) When you've reached the desired consistency, continue to knead the dough on a floured surface.

*"Piu` i lavori, piu` buona la pasta!" - The more kneading, the better the pasta!

6) With a rolling pin, form the dough into a circle (much like a pie crust) until it is very thin.

7) Starting from two sides, roll the dough towards the middle, making a scroll-like shape.

8) With a sharp knife, begin cutting the scroll into strips, moving horizontally. The strips should be less than a centimeter in width (if they're wider, they have a different name... :)

9) The strips of pasta should unroll easily (if they don't, it means you needed to put more flour

in).

10) Boil water, add coarse salt and the tagliatelle.

11) When the pasta rises to the top of the water, let it cook for about three more minutes, stirring.

Let's put them together: Drain the pasta, combine with the sauce over a heat, serve, and enjoy with parmigiana cheese and people you love!