Best Tagliatelle Bolognese

5 from 1 vote

Ready to twirl your fork into a plate of authentic pasta? This classic tagliatelle bolognese is exactly what you need for dinner on a chilly evening—warm, savory, and perfectly saucy. With layers of slow-simmered meat sauce and perfectly cooked tagliatelle, this dish will make you feel like you’ve been transported to a cozy Italian trattoria. Buon Appetito!

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 30

Total Time2

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: servings (with leftover sauce)

Author: Grace Vallo

Ingredients

1 pound tagliatelle pasta spinach or regular
¾ ground beef 80/20 is best
¾ pound ground pork
¾ pound ground veal or use an extra ¾ pound pork if don't want to use veal
1 ¼ cups whole milk
6-ounce can tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup carrots finely chopped
1 cup celery finely chopped
1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
5 cloves garlic smashed and minced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Salt to taste
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to garnish

Instructions

In a large pot over medium heat, add beef, pork and veal and cook until brown, consistently stirring and breaking up meat into fine granules. No pieces of meat should be bigger than a pencil eraser!
Add olive oil and butter. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Sauté until just heated, about 4-5 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium-low, and add tomato paste. Stir. Add wine, and stir again. Let cook for about 20 minutes, stirring periodically, until wine evaporates.
Add 1 cup milk. Stir, and reduce heat to low. Let cook for about 1 hour, occasionally stirring. Add additional ¼ cup of milk if the sauce seems to dry out. Let simmer for additional time for a more intensely flavored sauce (or if you have time to kill!). Add salt to taste.
Boil tagliatelle to al dente in salted water. Reserve ¼ cup pasta water. Drain pasta.
Add sauce until pasta is just coated in sauce. Add a dash of pasta water and stir again. Divide into shallow pasta bowls, and serve immediately with a generous handful of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Notes

Leftover sauce keeps well in the fridge in an airtight container for 4-5 days. Alternatively, you can freeze the sauce for up to 3 months, thawing in the fridge overnight before reheating.

Nutrition