Tagliatelle bolognese

A proper ragù bolognese is mostly meat with not much tomato, cooked slowly with wine and milk until rich and soft. It's traditionally served with fresh egg tagliatelle, not spaghetti, because the wide ribbons hold the sauce.

• Serves 4, with sauce left over
• Active 1 hour
• Total about 3½ hours

Ragù

• 2 tbsp olive oil and 30 g butter
• 100 g pancetta, finely diced
• 1 onion, 1 carrot and 1 celery stick, very finely diced
• 300 g beef mince (not too lean)
• 200 g pork mince
• 150 ml dry white wine
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 400 g tin crushed tomatoes
• 250 ml beef stock
• 200 ml whole milk
• A pinch of grated nutmeg, salt and pepper

To serve

• 1 batch fresh einkorn pasta (300 g flour), cut as tagliatelle
• Parmigiano-Reggiano, to grate

Method

1. Heat the oil and butter in a heavy pan. Cook the pancetta gently for 5 minutes until the fat runs. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook gently for 15 minutes, until very soft but not browned.
2. Turn the heat up, add both minces, and cook until they've lost all their pink and started to brown, breaking them up finely.
3. Add the wine and let it bubble until it has evaporated.
4. Stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes and stock. Bring to the barest simmer and cook, partly covered, for 2½–3 hours, stirring now and then. Add a splash of water if it gets dry.
5. In the last 30 minutes, stir in the milk a little at a time. The sauce should end up thick and glossy, with the meat very tender. Season with the nutmeg, salt and pepper.
6. While the ragù finishes, make and cut the tagliatelle.
7. Cook the tagliatelle for 2–3 minutes and drain, keeping a mug of the water. Toss it in a wide pan with about two-thirds of the ragù and a splash of pasta water over low heat for a minute, until every ribbon is coated.
8. Serve with plenty of grated Parmesan.