Re: Types of pasta
 

Ragu with mushrooms in it.

Re: Types of pasta
 

When I make a big batch of ragu (is it the same as bolognese?) I always add a handful of dried porcini mushrooms, I freeze it and then I use it for pasta or add kidney beans and hot chiili pepper and call it Chili con carne.

Re: Types of pasta
 

Ragu ( just the same as Bolognese) is not traditonally made with mushrooms - but once you have your basic ragu recipe you can stick anything in it you like, like kideney beans and chilli and paprika and mushrooms and call it chilli con carne.

I knoiw that I make dishes and dishes full of bolgnese for my dad when I go back. Some of it I use to make him a lasagna. The rest goes in his freezer to make whatever he wants and what he wants to spice it up with .......
jacket potato
chicken breast
pasta
pork cutlet

Like I said - whatever....

Re: Types of pasta
 

In all the cook books I've read, from Silver Spoon to wotsit Carluccio it says ragu is basically tinned tomatoes, mince of some kind, onions, garlic, tomato paste and wine. Some add chicken livers which is good but can be awkward to find in tiny quantities, plus salt and pepper. So anything else stuck in it, it becomes ragu with whatever you've stuck in it - to me this is also bolognaise, but I think bolognaise may even be when you've put the chicken livers in I'm not sure!:)

Re: Types of pasta
 

Btw, if you are ever stuck for time or only need a small quantity of ragu can I recommend the Barilla sauces in a jar??:) Yeah, I know, but they are really, really good! They do a bolognese one, one with sausage, one with mushrooms added and a basic ragu - so there must be a difference, if one is labelled ragu and the other bolognese - just checked!! Lol! It's called ragu alla bolognese,to differentiate it?? I don't know, but it does have soffritto in it which I don't normally do I must admit, maybe that is the difference?? Unless you do of course, I know a lot of people here use soffritto in everything. I could do with a mezzaluna though first!:D

Re: Types of pasta
 

As far as I know, the REAL BOLOGNESE sauce is the plain mincemeat one. Anything other than that is a sugo or a ragu as long as the same suace is a traditional one and meat one like sugo alla lepre and bigoli con l'anatra. Ragu has to look like mincemat sauce even if that mincemeat is from duck - hare - deer etc.

It's a farse that ragu means Bolognese. It is so much more so than ragu and should not just mean mincemat sauce - hence :::::


ragu al'anatra
ragu alla lepre
ragu al coniglio
ragu al' cervo

etc. etc.

Re: Types of pasta
 

That's was what I meant, I should just have capitalised the "with"! Lol!:thumbup:

Re: Types of pasta
 

Not so fond of tagliatelle... can't go wrong with a dish of spaghetti all'aglio,olio e peperoncino.........yumyumyum:thumbsup:

Re: Types of pasta
 

As always there is a lot of regional differences re food, so just to fill you in from a Neopolitan perspective: In Naples, ragù and bolognese are 2 very different things. Ragù in Naples is no way made from bolognese. It is made with chunks of meat and is cooked on a low heat for hours and hours. No veg is added - only onion at the begining which disappears during the hours of cooking. Bolognese is OTOH made with mince meat and usually carrot and onion.

Re: Types of pasta
 

Bolognese here is also without tomato. Ragu is made with a mix of pork and calve meat here in Campania and slow cooked for about 6 hours. Only the sauce is used for pasta and the meat and a little bit of sauce is the "secondo"