Tagliatelle with mortadella ragù

After a long time, I’m sharing a pasta recipe again. Tagliatelle with mortadella ragù is a simple yet flavourful dish. It really is amazing. You can have it from your stove to your table in only 20 minutes. In fact, it’s perfect for any day of the week. Mortadella ragù with fresh and aromatic rosemary and a sprinkle of lemon zest make this tagliatelle dish special.

Probably, we are all familiar with a minced meat ragù. Next time you make a ragù, try to use some silky and delicious mortadella instead. When I was little, I remember we had mortadella every Sunday morning for breakfast. That was a special day indeed.

Two thin slices of mortadella (yeah the thinner the better) on a slice of fresh brown bread or just with some cheese was and still is a real treat. Lovely. It is so good, you can’t stop eating it. Just like peanuts. Wink.

Mortadella – what is it?

Mortadella di Bologna, as you can already assume, originates from Bologna in Italy. But what is mortadella? Mortadella is a large, round, silky-textured sausage made only with pork meat. In fact, you can recognise it by its smooth texture, pink colour, unmistakable white small squares of fat and a distinctive aroma. Mortadella is a delicacy to taste!

Furthermore, along with mortadella, I also wanted a fresh herb in my delicious ragù. Therefore, I used fresh rosemary. Rosemary is a wonderful herb, either dry or fresh. Not only does it go well with roasted potatoes, chicken, red meat, fish, polenta or roasted peaches but it also goes great with this mortadella ragù.

Lemon zest is your secret ingredient

Even though I already had a fresh rosemary aroma, I was still looking for something extra. You know, to give that extra kick. And so I decided on lemon zest. Yes! Lemon zest gives that lovely citrusy note to the whole dish. I know you’re going to love it. Be bold and try it. Wink.

Moreover, if you don’t find tagliatelle, you can use any other kind of pasta you like most. Pasta is so versatile that I don’t even know where to start. However, I would choose between tagliatelle, spaghetti, farfalle, penne and conchiglie. But like I said, it’s up to you.

Also, just in case you are a pasta lover, check out this stunning „lingua della suocera“, vibrant green tagliatelle with asparagus and green peas, tasty spaghetti with Brussels sprouts and bacon or one of my first (read old) posts the penne with hazelnut sauce.

Last but not least, I have one quick tip for you. Add some pasta water to the mortadella ragú one minute before you add the pasta. Why add pasta water? You won’t believe it, but pasta water (which contains a lot of starch) adds flavour and thickens the sauce. Therefore, try not to skip this step.

Ingredients for two portions of tagliatelle with mortadella ragù:

• olive oil
• 1 garlic clove (chopped or sliced)
• 1 red onion (sliced)
• 100 g mortadella di Bologna (cut in strips or cubes)
• 5-6 Tbsp tomato sauce
• salt
• fresh rosemary
• 170g dry tagliatelle (200-220g fresh tagliatelle)
• lemon zest from one lemon

Prepare one deep pot for the tagliatelle and a larger frying pan for the mortadella ragù. Since dry tagliatelle need only 9 minutes (fresh only 3-5 minutes) to cook, I prepared the mortadella ragù first.

Furthermore, chop or slice the garlic and onion. I had mortadella slices. Therefore, I cut them into 1 cm wide strips. However, you can cut them into smaller pieces too. When you have a whole piece of mortadella, simply cut it into smaller cubes.

Also, in the frying pan heat some olive oil, add the onion, garlic and rosemary. Once the onion starts getting glossy, add the mortadella and stir for a couple of minutes. The mortadella will start getting that lovely roast colour on the edges. To finish, stir in the tomato sauce, turn down the heat to medium-low and cover with a lid.

Cook the pasta and use the pasta water

At this point, you can boil the water (in the deep pot). When the water starts to boil, add the golden tagliatelle, two pinches of salt and cook it for about 9 minutes or until nicely „al dente“.

Meanwhile, just a minute before the pasta is cooked, stir some pasta water (one to two small ladles will work just fine) in the mortadella ragù. Finally, transfer the tagliatelle (using pasta tongs) directly into the mortadella ragù. Turn off the heat and give it a gentle toss in order to cover all the tagliatelle with ragù.

Serve this delicious tagliatelle with mortadella ragù on one big serving plate or in single portions. It’s a wonderful mid-week dinner as well as an appetizer. Whenever you make it, make sure to grate the lemon zest on top of it. This will be your secret kick of freshness.

Enjoy!

If you like the recipe, if you make the recipe or if you have any new ideas on how to improve or change it, let me know in the comments section below or alternatively share your photos and reactions with me on Instagram (@Passionspoon), Facebook or Twitter (@PassionSpoon1). Simply use the hashtag #passionspoonrecipes in your posts. I would love to see them! (wink)