Cooking with Manuela: Tagliatelle Pasta with Ragu' alla Bolognese

Try this hearty and traditional Italian bolognese sauce over your favorite pasta

This post is brought to you in collaboration with Eattiamo. All opinions are mine!

🎉It's GIVEAWAY Time🎉
I'm so excited to share this post with you. Today I've teamed up with Eattiamo.com to give TWO lucky winners one of their amazing subscription boxes! Check out my Instagram post here, to find out how to enter.

If you are not familiar with this company and what it offers, you should really check it out. Especially if you are anything like me: an always-craving-Italian foodie who is in constant search for authentic and top quality Italian products in the US.

Eattiamo offers monthly food baskets delivered straight to your door (free shipping to the US) containing ingredients to make a full three-course meal for four people, and specific instructions on how to cook it...and make you feel like a real Italian chef.

The products you will find in the box are hand-picked each month by the Eattiamo team. They are high quality delicacies made in Italy by small and medium producers, following local traditions passed on through generations.

You can order just one box (any of the ones available on their site) or subscribe to their service and every month wait for the surprise... just like I do. You know how much I LOVE surprises!

Make sure to use code COOKWITHMANUELA at checkout for and extra 20% off any box.

I never know ahead of time what's inside the basket... why would I spoil the surprise anyways?!? When the box arrives I'm just like a little girl jumping up and down by the Christmas tree, waiting to furiously unwrap all the little presents inside. I love that feeling :)

Here is what's inside this month box (unwrapped of course!!!). Sorry to spoil the surprise for you, but I've really got to tell you.

For appetizer, you will be able to make crostini with a porcini mushroom spread and parmesan cheese with balsamic vinegar.

For main dish, tagliatelle pasta with ragu. OR if you don't feel like cooking much, there's a tomato sauce with porcini mushrooms jar by La Dispensa di Amerigo. Easy and delicious!

For dessert, ricotta with honey, strawberries and balsamic vinegar.

Of course you will need to buy some of the fresh ingredients mentioned here, but all the details of what you need are included in the box.

Now, who is ready to try and make your own Italian ragu' alla bolognese?!?

Here is the recipe for you!

INGREDIENTS:

YIELD: 4 servings

- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 1 celery stalk
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3.5 oz (100 gr) Petti tomato paste
- 2/3 lb ground beef
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 3/4 cup white wine
- 3/4 cup milk
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8.8 oz (250 gr) Amerigo Tagliatello pasta
- grated Parmesan cheese to serve

PREPARATION:

TIME: 30 minutes, plus about 1.5 hours to cook

Chop the carrot, celery and onion in tiny pieces.

In a large enough pan add the extra virgin olive oil, the chopped veggies and a pinch of salt. The salt will help you cook the vegetables without burning them. Cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring.

Mix in the ground pork and beef. Stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, breaking the meat into smaller pieces. Cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until all the meat is brown and the liquid has been completely absorbed.

Add the white wine in two times reducing it completely before pouring more. The wine will flavor the meat without boiling.
Add the tomato paste and 2 cups of hot water, stirring until the tomato paste is dissolved.
Cover the pot and simmer slowly. Stir once in a while and cook for at least an hour.

If the sauce is too watery, uncover the pan and cook uncovered for the last 5-10 minutes. Add the milk and season with salt. Simmer for another 15-20 minutes uncovered until the ragu is thick and creamy.