Baked Messy Tagliatelle

Baked Messy Tagliatelle is a delicious dish that combines fresh pasta with a rich sauce, before being gratinated in the oven. Here’s how to prepare it:

Ingredients

• 250g of egg tagliatelle
• 200g of ground meat (mixed beef and pork)
• 150g of mozzarella
• 50g of grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 small onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 stalk of celery
• 500ml of tomato puree
• 100ml of red wine
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Butter for greasing the baking dish

Preparation

1. Start by finely chopping the onion, carrot, and celery to prepare a soffritto.
2. In a large pan, heat a little oil and add the chopped vegetables. Sauté until they turn golden.
3. Add the ground meat, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Let the meat brown while breaking it up with a spoon.
4. Deglaze with red wine and let the alcohol evaporate.
5. Pour in the tomato puree and let it simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes, adjusting the salt if necessary.
6. In the meantime, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the tagliatelle al dente, draining them a few minutes before the time indicated on the package.
7. Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
8. Grease a baking dish with butter, then lay a first layer of tagliatelle on the bottom.
9. Add a layer of ragù and sprinkle with cubed mozzarella and a bit of Parmesan.
10. Continue with layers alternating pasta, ragù, and cheeses until all ingredients are used, finishing with Parmesan on top.
11. Bake the dish for 20-25 minutes or until the surface is golden and crunchy.
12. Let it rest for a few minutes before serving.

An interesting fact about this dish is that it combines the tradition of tagliatelle, a typical pasta from the Emilia region, with the concept of a baked dish reminiscent of lasagna, creating a kind of “deconstructed lasagna”. It’s a dish very suitable for family dinners or with friends, being hearty and comforting.