I might have mentioned my eternal love for pasta. Here’s the thing: if I’d have to choose between chocolate and pasta, I’d choose the latter. Oh, and I love chocolate, I just love pasta even more. My obsession for pasta began during early childhood. I remember that my grandmother used to make huge sheets of dough, which were later cut into delicate ribbons and served with poppy seeds or walnuts. Later I learnt that those exquisite ribbons were in fact tagliatelle.

Today I have a propose for you: tagliatelle made from scratch, served with two types of ragù. The first one is a classic beef ragù, decadent and flavorful and the second one is a vegan lentil ragù, nutritious yet incredibly tasty. Why should we include lentils in our diet?

Because lentils are full of protein, fiber, iron and vitamin B complex and low on fatty acids. I decided to make both sauces because I like to mix them together and get a highly nutritious sauce which tastes incredible.

Homemade tagliatelle

Ingredients:

• 300g strong white flour
• 3 large eggs
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 + ½ Tbsp olive oil

Method:

1. In a large bowl, mix together flour and salt.
2. Make a well in the center, add eggs and olive oil and mix with a fork, until you form a ball of dough.
3. Bring the dough on a floured working surface and knead it vigorously for 10 minutes, or until the surface becomes smooth.
4. Wrap it in plastic foil at let it rest on the working surface for 30 minutes.
5. Roll the dough using a rolling pin, from the center towards the border, until you get a thin sheet of dough. This might take a good 10 minutes (picture).
6. Sprinkle the sheet of dough with flour and roll it as tightly as you can, from bottom to top.
7. Cut the rolled dough into 1 cm disks. Open the tagliatelle using your fingers and sprinkle them with flour.
8. Let them rest on the working surface until the water boils.
9. Take a large pot, fill it with water, add a handful of salt and about 2 Tbsp of oil, cover with a lid and let it boil.
10. When the water starts to boil, put the tagliatelle into the pan and let them cook for 2 minutes.
11. After 2 minutes, drain pasta and rinse them with cold water.

Ragù alla Bolognese

Ingredients:

• 50g sliced bacon
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 400g minced beef
• 2 garlic cloves
• 100ml dry red wine
• 1 chopped tomato tin (400g)
• 200ml beef broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 10 basil leaves, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• parmesan cheese to taste

Method:

1. Cook bacon in a large pot on high heat, until crispy. Remove bacon and add chopped onion, carrot and celery to the pot. Cook on high heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent (about 5 minutes).
2. Add minced beef and cook until brown (about 7 minutes).
3. Add minced garlic, bay leaves and basil and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add crispy bacon and wine and cook until the liquid is reduced by half.
5. Add tomatoes and beef stock and cook uncovered, on low heat for 1 hour.
6. After 1 hour, discard bay leaves, pour sauce over tagliatelle and sprinkle some parmesan cheese.

Lentil ragù

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 2 celery stalks chopped
• 250g red lentils
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 chilli, chopped
• 100ml dry red wine
• 1 chopped tomato tin (400g)
• 200ml vegetable broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• nutritional yeast to taste

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add chopped onion, carrot and celeriac to the pot. Cook on high heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent (about 5 minutes).
2. Add lentils and cook for another 5 minutes.
3. Add chilli, minced garlic, bay leaves and oregano and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add wine and cook until the liquid is reduced by half.
5. Add tomatoes and vegetable stock and cook uncovered, on low heat for 1 hour.
6. After 1 hour, discard bay leaves, pour sauce over tagliatelle and sprinkle some nutritional yeast.

Note:

1. You can divide your ball of dough into two smaller balls. It’ll be much easier to roll the dough with a rolling pin
2. If you have a pasta maker or a pasta cutter, please feel free to use it. It’ll be much quicker and easier.

Sources: www.taste.com.au, www.bbcgoodfood.com