Tagliatelle al ragù alla Bolognese

Tagliatelle al ragù alla Bolognese is a traditional dish originating from Bologna, consisting of tagliatelle pasta and a rich ragù made with a mixture of minced beef and pork, and tomatoes as key ingredients. Even though they are often thought to be synonymous, tagliatelle al ragù—one of Bologna's signature dishes—bears little or no resemblance to the dish known as spaghetti Bolognese in the rest of the world.

In fact, the world famous Italian ragù alla Bolognese meat sauce is never served with spaghetti in Bologna. Instead, when it isn't served over fresh tagliatelle, you will most often find it topping a bed of some other other ribbon-like pasta, such as fettuccine or pappardelle.

Regardless of the type of pasta used, what makes or breaks this classic Emilian dish is the ragù itself. Experts nowadays tend to consider the recipe for ragù alla Bolognese registered by the Italian Academy of Cuisine in October 1982 the most authentic version.

However, chances are that every restaurant and trattoria in Emilia Romagna dishes out its own version of tagliatelle al ragù, and each version is surely worth trying.