Beef and Red Wine Tagliatelle
A rich, slow-simmered beef mince and red wine sauce tossed with tagliatelle, finished with a splash of starchy pasta water so every strand is glossy and coated.
- Total
- 70 min
- Prep 15 · Cook 55
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Medium
You'll practice: Searing · Deglazing
- Savory
- No rush
- Italian
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Finely dice the onion, carrot and celery into roughly 5 mm pieces. Set them aside together.
~8 min
-
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the beef mince and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until it is well browned and no pink remains. Season with half the salt and the black pepper.
~8 min
Searing the mince in a hot pan triggers Maillard browning, creating deep savoury flavours that a slow simmer alone cannot develop.
Browning the mince properly before adding the vegetables builds the deep flavour base; do not rush this step or the sauce will taste flat.
Searing Get the pan hot and leave the mince undisturbed to brown before breaking it up; crowding or stirring too early steams it grey instead of crusty brown.
-
Add the diced onion, carrot and celery to the pan. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables have softened and the onion is translucent.
~10 min
Sweating the diced vegetables softens them and releases sweetness, forming the aromatic base of the sauce.
-
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute until it darkens slightly. Pour in the red wine and scrape up the browned bits from the base of the pan. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened and the alcohol smell has cooked off.
~26 min
Deglazing with wine lifts the browned bits, and simmering evaporates alcohol while concentrating the sauce's flavour and body.
Deglazing Pour the wine in and immediately scrape the pan base with a wooden spoon to lift the browned bits; skip this and you lose the sauce's deepest flavour.
-
While step 4 cooks
While the sauce simmers, bring 1 litre of water to a boil in a large pot, add the remaining salt, and cook the tagliatelle for 8 to 10 minutes until al dente. Reserve a cup of the starchy cooking water, then drain the pasta.
~10 min
Cooking pasta to al dente keeps it firm, and the starchy water later helps the sauce cling to every strand.
-
Add the drained tagliatelle to the pan of sauce. Pour in 100 ml of the reserved starchy cooking water and toss over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes until the sauce clings to every strand. Add a splash more cooking water if it looks dry. Serve immediately.
~2 min
The starchy pasta water emulsifies with the sauce, thickening it so it coats the tagliatelle evenly instead of sliding off.