Tagliatelle al Ragú, or the 'Real Thing'
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I know it might sound pissy and anal, but, being Emilian born and bred, I believe it's about time to clear this issue up. Italian cuisine is well known around the world and, from a magazine that certainly would never write 'a Tuscan red' if it meant 'Brunello di Montalcino', one would expect accuracy. Therefore it would be more accurate to call 'spaghetti Bolognese' by its original, authentic name, 'tagliatelle al ragú', the correct name of the original Emilia recipe.
First of all, tagliatelle is a pasta fresca, that is, a fresh pasta, as opposed to spaghetti which is a dry pasta. According to chef Davide Dallocco of the School for Hotel and Restaurant Management from Serramazzoni, Italy, "The queen of fresh pasta is the egg pasta with which tagliatelle ... is made". On the other hand, spaghetti is a typical dry pasta made with durum wheat.
According to Emanuela, another cook friend of mine back in Modena (Pavarotti's hometown and, along with Bologna, well known for its tasty cuisine), she gets annoyed when foreigners ask for 'spaghetti Bolognese'. She runs a restaurant near the headquarters of Ferrari, the automobile maker in Maranello, and can't figure out how people that are so knowledgeable about Italian cars, culture and wines can't figure out the difference between a pasta made with fresh eggs in the morning of the same day it is served, from the still good, but industrially made, and who knows when, spaghetti.
To tell you the truth, Emilia Romagna and Bologna, along with the rest of Italy, are about the only places where you cannot find 'spaghetti Bolognese', since they are called by their name 'tagliatelle al ragú'.
So please, next time that you are in Italy and want to taste that succulent pasta dish, ask for the right thing. If the name looks to difficult to pronounce, forget about the pesky 'gl' in the middle of the word and use the pronunciation 'tye-ya-tell-ee". This will be close enough to please my friend Emanuela, along with any Italian chef and waiter.
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