Gennaro Slow Cook Italian (2015)
Pasta
La Genovese con pennette
Il ragù antico
Ragù Bolognese
Tagliatelle con ragù d’agnello in bianco con finocchietto
Maltagliati con cannellini e olive
Pappardelle con sugo di lepre
Tagliolini con ragù di fagiano in bianco
Paccheri con sugo di coniglio
Lasagne con ragù di verdure
Pasta e patate arraganate al forno
Pasta e fagioli
Pasta is the best-loved dish of all Italians and its popularity has spread worldwide - no wonder, as it makes a satisfying meal and many pasta dishes are quick to cook. However, there are lots of sauces and baked pasta dishes that require long, slow cooking. One of the best examples has to be ragù: there are many variations of ragù, but all are based on the principle of meat or other ingredients cooked very slowly so that they become superbly tender and their flavour creates a wonderful sauce. During hunting season, I will use whatever I have caught - perhaps pheasant, pigeon, hare or rabbit - cooked slowly to make a deliciously rich sauce to serve with pappardelle or tagliatelle.
My family’s slow-cooked ragù, which we enjoyed for Sunday lunches, would take at least 12 hours to cook. My zia (aunt) Maria was the expert and she would start her ragù on Saturday and leave it to cook very, very gently on the smallest of flames on the stove all through the night for a ragù that was cooked to absolute perfection - the meat so tender and crumbly and the dense sauce with its unforgettable consistency and taste.
I love pasta dishes that can be served as two courses, such as the southern Italian ragù and La Genovese, where a large piece of meat is cooked slowly and the resulting sauce is served with pasta as a first course followed by the meat as a main. These are some of my favourite dishes to cook, especially when I have a crowd for dinner. Not only are they simple to prepare, they go a long way and you know they will please everyone!
When I was growing up in southern Italy, pasta al forno, or baked pasta, was a must for special occasions like Christmas, weddings and christenings. At these times, the wood fire would be lit well in advance and large terracotta dishes would be baked for hours. A lasagne made with tomato sauce, meatballs, boiled eggs and lots of local salami and cheese was a sure favourite at these grand occasions. Baked pasta dishes can be made in advance and slowly cooked in the oven, and they don’t mind waiting around before you serve them. They are ever-popular for Sunday lunches, at parties, or when you have lots of people round.
La Genovese con pennette
Slow-cooked onion sauce with pasta, followed by veal
Although the title suggests otherwise, this is a Neapolitan classic and, like ragù, is a Sunday lunch favourite in the Campania region. The recipe has age-old roots and there are various stories about its origins. One says it was prepared in osterie (inns) at the port of Naples by cooks from Genova for Genovese sailors. Large pieces of meat were slow-cooked with onions in order to create a flavoursome pasta sauce and a main course to feed the hungry sailors. Nowadays everyone has their own version. Beef is commonly used, but I prefer the milder taste of veal, which marries well with the onions; after long, gentle cooking these become sweet, with a meltingly soft texture that is perfect for a pasta sauce.
Serves 4
800g/1lb 12oz veal joint
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, sliced
100ml/3½fl oz/scant ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2.5kg/5lb 8oz large onions, sliced
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
85g/3oz salami, finely chopped
3 sage leaves
1 sprig of rosemary
2 bay leaves
200ml/7fl oz/scant 1 cup dry white wine
350g/12oz pennette pasta
30g/1oz pecorino (romano) cheese, grated
Rub the veal all over with salt and pepper, make some incisions in the meat and poke in the garlic slices.
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat. Add the veal and brown well all over. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the onions, celery, carrot, salami and herbs, season with salt and pepper and sweat for about 30 minutes on a low heat.
Put the meat back in the pan, add the wine and allow to evaporate. Reduce the heat to very low, cover with a lid and cook for 3 hours, until the meat is very tender. Check from time to time to make sure it isn’t sticking to the pan, turning the meat and stirring the onions.
Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. Using a potato masher, mash the onions slightly and taste for seasoning.
Cook the pennette in lightly salted boiling water until al dente, drain and toss with the onions. Serve with grated pecorino cheese and freshly ground black pepper. Slice the veal and serve as a main course with a green salad.
Il ragù antico
Slow-cooked ragù
Simbolo della domenica in famiglia (‘the symbol of Sunday with the family’)
This dish is a very popular and traditional Sunday lunch in most southern Italian families. When I was growing up, Sunday just wasn’t Sunday without il ragù. The weekend would traditionally begin with the housewife’s early trip to the butcher to obtain the perfect cuts of meat; with the package firmly clutched under her arm, she would begin to imagine how it would be cooked. Once at home, surrounded by children, grandparents and the odd neighbour or two, she would begin preparations for this weekly ritual - discussions would erupt among the women as to what should go in, how the meat should be sealed and so on. Just like in the film Saturday, Sunday and Monday (1990), when Sophia Loren goes to the butcher and ends up in a fiery discussion with other housewives as to what makes the perfect ragù! Ultimately, the ragù would be left slowly, slowly bubbling away on the stove, in a large terracotta pot, for most of Saturday and sometimes even throughout the night - a cooking time of 12 hours or more was quite normal. As the ragù gently simmered, the women went about making fresh pasta and gossiping, or in some families the rosary was recited. The smell of the bubbling ragù, the warmth from the wood-fired stove, the squeals of playing children and the animated voices of the women gave the serene feeling of home, family and the sign that the weekend was truly under way.
Traditionally the ragù was made with various cuts of beef - shin, knuckle, chuck - with the precious addition of nervetti (tendons) to give more flavour, as well as cuts of pork such as ribs and shanks. Home-preserved bottled tomatoes, made at the end of summer, gave the ragù its unique taste.
The secret to simmering a perfect ragù is to put it on an extremely low heat, partially cover the pot and listen for that gentle ‘plop, plop, plop’ sound during cooking. When the sauce and olive oil separate and the oil comes to the top, you know the ragù is ready.
The ragù is enjoyed as two courses, the first course being the rich tomato sauce served with pasta, followed by the meat. Pasta shapes such as ziti or candele were popular, but this varied from village to village; in my home village, Minori, we preferred fusilli. Not the mass-produced twist shapes found in the shops today, but long, thin curls made by rolling the pasta around umbrella spokes. I know ladies who still make fusilli like this today and when I go back to visit, I make sure I bring back a bagful to enjoy with my version of il ragù.
Serves 4-6
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
600g/1lb 5oz beef shin, cut into about six chunks
4 pork ribs
500g/1lb 2oz stewing pork, cut into chunks
75ml/2½fl oz/5 tbsp red wine
1 tbsp tomato purée (paste), mixed with
1 tbsp lukewarm water
400g/14oz can chopped tomatoes
500ml/18fl oz/2 cups tomato passata (strained tomatoes)
a handful of basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the olive oil in a very large saucepan, add the onion and sweat for a couple of minutes on a medium heat. Add all the meat and brown well all over.
Add the wine and allow to evaporate. Then add the tomato purée and stir to coat the meat. Add the canned tomatoes and cook for a minute, then add the passata, basil, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to very, very low, partially cover with a lid and cook for 6 hours. Check the liquid level (top up with a little stock or water if necessary) and stir very carefully from time to time.
After 3 hours, remove the ribs and pork and set aside.
About 20 minutes before the end of cooking time, return the ribs and pork to the sauce to heat through.
Remove the pan from the heat and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat and set aside. Use the tomato sauce to dress freshly cooked pasta and serve the meat as a main course.
For a slow cooker
Traditionally this is always cooked in a large pot, and all the meat is browned together so the flavours begin to mingle. When using a slow cooker you may find it easier to brown the meat in batches.
Sweat the onion and brown the meat as above. Continue as above and bring to the boil, then transfer everything to a large slow cooker pot, press the meat beneath the liquid, cover and cook on Low for 8-9 hours (there’s no need to remove the ribs and pork from the slow cooker). Serve as above.
Ragù Bolognese
Classic Bolognese ragù
Although one of the most popular pasta sauces worldwide, the Bolognese is so often made badly outside of Italy: too much tomato, not cooked for long enough and usually served with spaghetti, hence the term ‘spag bol’ - unheard of in Italy! Because of all these differences and others, the Bolognese association of the Accademia Italiana della Cucina decided in 1982 to declare an official recipe. Although the original recipe used a whole cut of meat which was cut into tiny pieces, the Accademia allows for minced meat for ease of preparation. Only double- or triple-concentrated tomato purée is used (the kind sold in tubes in the supermarket is usually double-concentrated) and the addition of milk towards the end of cooking takes away any acidity from the tomato. The thick meat sauce would fall off the thin strands of spaghetti and so the Bolognese always serve it with tagliatelle; this ragù is also used for lasagne. For a rich, dense sauce, slow-cook for at least 2 hours. It is always worth making more than you need so you can freeze some in batches.
Serves 4
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
30g/1oz butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
150g/5½oz pancetta, cubed
200g/7oz minced (ground) beef
200g/7oz minced (ground) pork
200ml/7fl oz/scant 1 cup red wine
1½ tbsp tomato purée (paste)
200ml/7fl oz/scant 1 cup beef stock - or use a stock cube
100ml/3½fl oz/scant ½ cup full-fat milk
Heat the olive oil and butter in a large saucepan, add the onion, celery, carrot and pancetta and sweat on a gentle heat for about 10 minutes, until the onion has softened.
Add the meat and brown all over. Increase the heat, add the wine and allow to evaporate. Dilute the tomato purée in a little of the stock and stir into the meat. Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and cook on a gentle heat for 2 hours, checking and adding a little extra stock from time to time to prevent the sauce from drying out.
About 10 minutes before the end of cooking time, stir in the milk.
Serve with freshly cooked tagliatelle.
For a slow cooker
Sweat the vegetables and pancetta and brown the meat as above. Add the wine and allow to evaporate, then dilute the tomato purée in 350ml/12fl oz/1½ cups stock, bring to the boil and transfer to a medium slow cooker pot. Cover and cook on Low for 8-9 hours. Stir in the milk and cook for 10 minutes. Serve as above.
For a large slow cooker pot, make double the quantity: cooking times remain the same.
Tagliatelle con ragù d’agnello in bianco con finocchietto
Tagliatelle with lamb and wild fennel
When we talk about ragù, we tend to think of the traditional sauce made with beef and tomatoes. This is a much lighter version, made in bianco (‘in the white’ - as Italians refer to dishes not cooked in tomato sauce). Italians tend to eat this dish in the spring, when lamb is at its best and wild fennel is found in abundance. Rather than using minced (ground) lamb, I use a piece of lamb cut into small bite-size pieces, keeping its texture, and slow-cook it on a gentle heat. The simple combination of lamb, wild fennel and a sprinkling of pecorino is delicious.
Serves 4
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
1 celery stalk, finely sliced
400g/14oz lamb, cut into small pieces
100ml/3½fl oz/scant ½ cup dry white wine
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a handful of wild fennel, roughly chopped
300ml/10fl oz/1¼ cups vegetable stock - or use a stock cube
325g/11½oz dried tagliatelle pasta
40g/1½oz pecorino (romano) cheese, grated
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and celery and sweat on a low heat for 20 minutes, stirring from time to time, until softened.
Increase the heat, add the lamb and brown well all over. Add the wine and allow to evaporate. Season and add a couple of fennel sprigs and 100ml/3½fl oz/scant ½ cup of the stock. Reduce the heat to very low, cover with a lid and cook for 1 hour, checking from time to time and gradually adding a little more of the stock. After about 55 minutes, stir in the remaining fennel.
When almost ready to serve, bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil and cook the tagliatelle until al dente. Drain, reserving a little of the cooking water. Add the pasta and a couple of tablespoons of the cooking water to the sauce and mix well. Remove from the heat, sprinkle with the pecorino and serve.
Maltagliati con cannellini e olive
Fresh pasta strips with cannellini beans and olives
I love cannellini beans, especially the dried beans that need to be soaked overnight. Once the beans are soaked, this dish is really easy to make, and the beans and prosciutto give a wonderful aroma as they cook together. The addition of fresh crunchy celery, olives and tomatoes makes this fresher and lighter than a typical pasta e fagioli (pasta and beans) dish. Delicious served next day and can also be enjoyed cold.
Serves 4
300g/10½oz/1½ cups dried cannellini beans, soaked in water overnight
200g/7oz piece of prosciutto, cubed
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
20 green olives, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, deseeded and finely chopped
leaves from 2 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
300g/10½oz fresh pappardelle, roughly chopped into 10cm/4-inch long strips
30g/1oz Parmesan, grated, plus extra, shaved, to serve
a small handful of basil leaves, torn if large
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Rinse the beans and put them in a large saucepan with the prosciutto; add 2 litres/3½ pints/2 quarts cold water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, partially cover with a lid and cook on a very low heat for 1 hour, or until the beans are tender but not falling apart.
Combine the celery, olives, tomatoes, rosemary, garlic and olive oil and add to the beans. Increase the heat, bring to the boil and add the pasta, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the pasta is al dente. Remove from the heat, stir in the Parmesan and basil, taste for seasoning and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Serve with black pepper, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a few Parmesan shavings.
Pappardelle con sugo di lepre
Pappardelle with hare sauce
Hare meat is rich and dark like beef or venison. If you are a hunter yourself, you know how rare it is to catch a hare, but if you do get the chance or can buy hare from a good butcher, then I urge you to try this dish. The recipe was created by one of my chefs, Davide Bargione, who, like me, loves hare. The sauce can be made in advance and reheated.
Serves 6
1 hare, cut into 12 pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
500g/1lb 2oz fresh or dried pappardelle
grated Parmesan, to serve (optional)
for the marinade
1 litre/1¾ pints/4 cups red wine
150ml/5fl oz/⅔ cup white wine vinegar
1 garlic head, cloves separated and crushed
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
20 black peppercorns, lightly crushed
3 sprigs of rosemary
6 bay leaves
juice of 1 lemon
2 large celery stalks, roughly chopped
2 onions, roughly chopped
for the sauce
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
bouquet garni of thyme, bay leaf, rosemary and parsley
2 tbsp tomato purée (paste)
200ml/7fl oz/scant 1 cup red wine
1.2kg/2lb 10oz (3 x 400g/14oz cans)
canned chopped tomatoes
500ml/18fl oz/2 cups hot vegetable stock - or use a stock cube
Wash the hare thoroughly under cold running water and pat dry with kitchen paper. Put the hare in a large bowl together with the rest of the marinade ingredients, cover with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and leave in the fridge for at least 12 hours.
Remove the hare from the marinade, pat dry and season with salt and pepper. To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and brown the hare all over. Remove the meat and set aside. In the same pan, sweat the onion, celery, carrot and bouquet garni together with the vegetables, garlic and herbs from the marinade for about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato purée, add the wine and allow to evaporate. Return the hare to the pan, add the tomatoes, stock, some salt and pepper, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid and cook gently for 1½ hours.
At the end of the cooking time, remove the chunks of meat and set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, discard the bones, chop the meat finely and return to the sauce and heat through.
Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil and cook the pappardelle until al dente. Drain, mix with the hare sauce and serve immediately, with a little grated Parmesan if desired.
Tagliolini con ragù di fagiano in bianco
Tagliolini with pheasant
This is one of my favourite dishes after a morning’s shooting; I love getting together with all the other hunters and tucking into this tasty pasta dish. I often don’t bother to marinate the pheasant, as I like the gamey flavour. As the sauce is in bianco (‘white’, or without tomato) the dish is quite light and shows off the full flavour of the meat. The sauce can be made in advance and reheated thoroughly before adding the pasta.
Serves 4
1 pheasant, cleaned, boned and cut into chunks (ask your butcher to do this)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
plain (all-purpose) flour, to dust
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
100ml/3½fl oz/scant ½ cup dry white wine
1 onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 sprig of rosemary
350ml/12fl oz/1½ cups hot vegetable
stock - or use a stock cube
350g/12oz fresh or dried tagliolini pasta
for the marinade
400ml/14fl oz/1⅔ cups dry white wine
½ onion, roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 sprig of rosemary
Put the chunks of pheasant in a bowl together with all the marinade ingredients, cover with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and leave in the fridge overnight.
Remove the meat from the marinade, carefully remove the skin and discard. Dry the meat with kitchen paper, season with salt and pepper and dust with flour. Discard the marinade.
Heat half of the olive oil in a frying pan on a medium-high heat, add the pheasant and brown well all over, then add the wine and allow to evaporate.
In another frying pan, heat the remaining olive oil and sweat the onion, celery, carrot and rosemary until the vegetables have softened. Add the browned meat to the vegetables and mix together. Add the stock, some salt and pepper and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover with a lid and cook gently for 50 minutes. Check from time to time and if necessary add more hot stock.
When almost ready to serve, cook the tagliolini in lightly salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, reserving a little of the cooking water, and add the pasta to the pheasant sauce, then toss well with a few tablespoons of the cooking water. Serve immediately.
Paccheri con sugo di coniglio
Paccheri with rabbit sauce
Paccheri are a traditional Neapolitan pasta in the shape of large, round tubes, which marry very well with a thick sauce like this. The sauce can be made in advance and reheated thoroughly before adding the pasta. Rabbit is quite a bland meat so it needs to be livened up with spices or herbs: here I’ve inserted cloves into an onion, which gives the sauce a spicy taste. This is a simple one-pot meal that will give you two courses: the pasta is served with the sauce as a starter and the rabbit follows as a main course, perhaps served with a green salad.
Serves 4
3 cloves
1 onion, peeled, left whole
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, left whole
½ red chilli, finely chopped
2 sage leaves
1kg/2lb 4oz rabbit, cut into chunks on the bone
750ml/1¼ pints/3 cups tomato passata (strained tomatoes)
salt
350g/12oz paccheri or lumaconi (large shells) pasta
grated pecorino (romano) cheese, to serve
Insert the cloves into the onion. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan on a medium-high heat, add the onion, carrot, garlic, chilli and sage leaves and stir-fry until golden. Remove and discard the garlic. Add the rabbit and brown on all sides. Stir in the passata and some salt, reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer gently for 2 hours.
Remove the rabbit pieces and set aside. Strain the sauce and put it back in the saucepan to keep it warm, together with the rabbit.
Meanwhile, cook the paccheri in plenty of lightly salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, add to the sauce, mix well and serve with freshly grated pecorino cheese.
Lasagne con ragù di verdure
Lasagne with slow-cooked vegetable ragù
This is a lighter version of the classic lasagne, with vegetables replacing the meat Bolognese ragù. The vegetables are cooked on a very low heat so they do not go mushy and the flavours infuse well.
Serves 4
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely sliced
1 leek, finely sliced
1 celery stalk, finely sliced
1 carrot, finely sliced
1 turnip, finely sliced
150g/5½oz pumpkin, cubed
85g/3oz mushrooms, sliced
100g/3½oz curly endive, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 sprig of marjoram
1 sprig of thyme
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp canned chopped tomatoes
250ml/9fl oz/1 cup vegetable stock - or use a stock cube
butter, to grease and finish
8-10 fresh lasagne sheets
100g/3½oz Parmesan, grated
for the white sauce
40g/1½oz/3 tbsp butter
40g/1½oz/5 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
500ml/18fl oz/2 cups full-fat milk
a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the shallot and leek and sweat on a medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the celery, carrot, turnip, pumpkin, mushrooms, endive, garlic, herbs and black pepper. Stir in the tomatoes and stock, reduce the heat to minimum, then cover with a lid and cook for 1½ hours, stirring from time to time.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.
To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, remove from the heat and whisk in the flour very quickly to avoid lumps, then gradually add the milk, whisking well. Return to the heat and cook on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes, whisking all the time until the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and stir in some salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Grease an ovenproof dish, about 20 x 25cm/8 x 10 inches, with butter and spread a little of the white sauce on the bottom. Arrange a layer of lasagne sheets on top, followed by some vegetable ragù, a little white sauce, and a sprinkling of grated Parmesan. Continue making layers like this until you have used all the ingredients, ending with white sauce and grated Parmesan. Top with small knobs of butter. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Remove the foil and cook for another 10 minutes to brown the top. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Pasta e patate arraganate al forno
Baked pasta and potatoes
My sister, Adriana, makes this dish; it is a cross between pasta e patate (pasta and potatoes), which was a much-loved dish in our family, and patate arraganate (sliced potatoes baked in the oven with oregano and tomatoes). It’s a thrifty way to use up small amounts of dried pasta from your store cupboard, making a tasty, nutritious meal for a family midweek supper.
Serves 4
500g/1lb 2oz potatoes, cut into chunks
60g/2¼oz Parmesan: 30g/1oz roughly cut into cubes; 30g/1oz grated
250g/9oz dried pasta, broken up
for the sauce
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 celery stalk with leaves, roughly chopped
600g/1lb 5oz canned chopped tomatoes
a handful of fresh basil leaves, plus extra to serve
a pinch of dried oregano salt and freshly ground black pepper
First, make the sauce: heat the olive oil in a saucepan and sweat the onion and celery for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes, then rinse out the can with 200ml/7fl oz/scant 1 cup water and add to the pan. Stir in the basil, oregano, salt and pepper and cook on a medium heat for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
Put the tomato sauce and potatoes in an ovenproof dish about 20 x 25cm/8 x 10 inches, dot with pieces of Parmesan, cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain, reserving about 200ml/7fl oz/scant 1 cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the sauce and potatoes, together with the reserved pasta cooking water. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and scatter over a few basil leaves, then return to the oven for 15 minutes, without the foil. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Pasta e fagioli
Pasta and beans
This dish is popular throughout Italy and each region, town, village and family have their own versions. The dish was a staple in most rural homes, slowly bubbling away in large terracotta pots over the ash of the fireplace to provide a warm, nutritious meal when the family returned home from a hard day working in the fields. This particular recipe is typical of the Abruzzo region, where it is normally made with fresh eggless tagliatelle-type pasta. Pasta e fagioli dishes are not traditionally served with grated cheese, but if you prefer you can grate some Parmesan or pecorino to sprinkle on when serving.
Serves 4
250g/9oz/1¼ cups dried borlotti beans, soaked in water overnight
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
½ onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely chopped
½ red chilli, finely chopped (optional)
400g/14oz can chopped tomatoes
150g/5½oz tomato passata (strained tomatoes)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
250g/9oz dried tagliatelle, broken up
Drain and rinse the beans, put them in a saucepan with enough cold water to cover and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover with a lid and cook for about 1 hour, or until the beans are tender. Drain, reserving a couple of tablespoons of the cooking water. Take about a quarter of the beans and mash them with the cooking water. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan, sweat the onion, celery, carrot and chilli, if using, for a couple of minutes, then add all the tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook on a medium heat, partially covered with a lid, for 20 minutes. Add all the beans and the reserved cooking water and continue to cook for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time.
Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil and cook the tagliatelle until al dente. Drain, reserving a little of the cooking water, and add to the sauce, mixing well together; if necessary add a little of the cooking water. Remove from the heat and leave to rest for 5 minutes, then serve in individual bowls with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.