“Travels” in Emilia-Romagna

This is a tough one. Emilia-Romagna is obviously the origin of so many of our favorite Italian foods, like prosciutto di parma and parmigiano reggiano. Modena is home to Osteria Francescana, regarded as one of the best restaurants in the world (https://osteriafrancescana.it/). Maybe one day I’ll get there. A restaurant featuring the flavors of Emilia-Romagna took New York city by storm, and serves some of the best pasta you’ll ever eat, in my opinion. (https://www.rezdora.nyc/)
And, of course, Emilia-Romagna is the home of ragù Bolognese, a truly classic dish.

One of the older cookbooks on my shelves is “The Splendid Table, Recipes from Emilia-Romagna, the Heartland of Northern Italian Food.” The front covers bears stickers showing that it was the 1993 James Beard Foundation winner for Cookbook of the Year and the Julia Child Cookbook Awards winner of Book of the Year. In it is a recipe for “A” Classic Ragù Bolognese. Use of the word “a” here is important. As far as I – an outsider – can tell, there is no “the” classic ragù Bolognese.

Matt Goulding’s “Pasta Pane Vino” has an excellent and highly amusing discussion of this very topic – what is the classic ragù Bolognese? He includes a discussion with some grandmothers from the village of Savigno, and each one has a different idea of the proper ragù.

I have turned to the ragù in The Splendid Table many times over the years, each time intending to follow the recipe exactly so that I know what the authors of this extraordinary cookbook intended. Yet, somehow I never manage to do it. I always pause at adding milk. I know, I know, many would say that it is not ragù Bologese without the milk. I was pleased to find some support for my no milk position from at least one of the grandmothers of Savigno.

One thing that is universal for a “proper” ragù is that you cannot rush it. You want to take time, lots of time, for this one. During this long winter of the pandemic, I spent a day making my own version of ragù Bologese, with fresh tagliatelle. I doubt it would pass with the grandmother of Savigno, but it tasted like a bit of Italy to me. We started this meal with a salad of tart greens with prosciutto and warm balsamic dressing from The Splendid Table. How often do you have a salad that you keep saying “this is a really excellent salad” as you’re eating it? The insalata di prosciutto e aceto balsamico from The Splendid Table is a really excellent salad.

A variation on Ragù Bolognese

Course: Uncategorized

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 8 oz pancetta – finely chopped

• 2 carrots – finely chopped

• 2 stalks celery- finely chopped

• 1 medium red onion – finely chopped

• 1 1/2 pounds beef skirt steak or chuck roast – coarsely ground

• 1/2 cup dry Italian white wine

• 2-3 tomatoes from a can of Italian peeled tomatoes – crushed by hand – crush well

• 2 cups beef stock

Directions

• In large, heavy saucepan, cook the pancetta in the olive oil over medium-low heat. Sauté until most of the fat has rendered from the pancetta. Add the carrots, celery, and onion. Sauté until the vegetables are just lightly browned. Raise heat to medium. Add the beef and cook until the beef is medium brown. Do not let the beef dry out or get hard.
• Stir in the wine, and cook until the alcohol dissipates, scraping up any browned bits in the pan. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and about 1 cup of the stock. Reduce heat to very low, and cook for at least two hours partially covered. Gradually add more stock as necessary. This sauce is only very slightly liquid when done.
• Toss with freshly cooked fresh tagliatelle. Serve topped with parmigiano reggiano.