Pasta alla Bolognese alla Pepi

December 28th, 2006

My brother-in-law, Pepi (from Napoli) taught me this very southern version of Pasta alla Bolognese. It’s made with San Marzano tomatoes and slow-cooked for at least 3-4 hours. The first time I tried this pasta I had 3 enormous helpings, something which is very unusual for me.

See the video of James making this pasta by clicking here!

Ingredients (Serves 6-8 as a small pasta course):

-Tagliatelle or Parpadelle egg pasta (1 pound)

-2 medium carrots, chopped into 1 inch pieces

-1 yellow onion, diced

-1 can (28 ounces) of San Marzano tomatoes (crushed by hand into a bowl)

-1 pound of ground beef

-Best quality extra virgin olive oil for finishing

-Good quality extra virgin olive oil for sauteeing

-Salt & Pepper

-Parmigianno Reggiano for grating

Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a heavy sauce pan over medium high heat. Add your carrots and onions and a bit of salt and sautee for 8-10 minutes or until soft (not browned). Take your meat and break it into small pieces and add to the pan. Stir occasionally to lightly cook all sides of the meat (approximately 5 minutes). Add your crushed San Marzano tomatoes and stir to combine. Fill your empty can of San Marzano tomatoes half way with water (this is going to allow us to cook our sauce for a very long time) and add to the pan. Once everything has reached a boil, turn down the heat to the lowest setting. Cover with the lid slightly ajar and cook for at least 4 hours. Stir the mixture every 15-20 minutes to ensure even cooking. The sauce should be gently bubbling the entire time. Add salt and pepper along the way.

Once the sauce has come together turn off the heat. Adjust seasoning as needed. Add a drizzle of best quality extra virgin olive and stir to combine. Bring your pot of pasta water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons of salt. Drop your pasta in and cook according to the package instructions, remembering to remove it at least 30 seconds to 1 minute prior so that it remains al dente. Drain your pasta and add it back to the same pot you cooked it in. Ladle a bit of Bolognese sauce over the pasta and stir gently to combine. You do not want to over sauce this dish so only add what you need.

To plate, take add a bit of pasta to each plate. Ladle over additional sauce and pieces of meat as desired. Grate fresh Parmigiano Reggiano over each dish and drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil. Serve immediately. Buon appetito!

To see a video of me making this dish from start to finish visit this link!

See the video of James making this pasta by clicking here!

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