Chef Roberto Bassi has shared his secrets for preparing spaghetti Bolognese with authentic Italian flavour – advising against one common error.
For insights on achieving the best Bolognese, Roberto Bassi, the executive chef at Academia Barilla, began by revealing which type of pasta complements the sauce best.
Roberto told the Daily Star: “Well, if you really want to cook an authentic Italian Bolognese, the first step, perhaps surprisingly, is to use tagliatelle.
“Then, the secret of a good Ragu alla Bolognese, the traditional Bolognese sauce, lies in the choice of the meat and achieving the right ratio between vegetables and meat.”
He also highlighted the main common mistake people make when cooking pasta that could be “greatly” impacting the product.
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Roberto explained: “There are two major mistakes we see with cooking pasta, which can greatly impact not only the authenticity, but also the quality of your end result. “
He went on: “These mistakes are adding oil to the water when cooking and rinsing the cooked pasta with water.
“If you are working with high-quality pasta, only a small amount of starch is released during cooking which prevents the pasta from sticking together.
“By rinsing your cooked pasta, you are actually removing the light starch coating which helps the pasta to bind with the sauce.”
On the other hand, social media star Ayeisha Cooks confessed she adds a “non-traditional” ingredient she adds to bolognese that can take this simple dinner to the next level.
In a TikTok video online, Ayeisha said: “The anchovies will dissolve and will not create a fishy taste, but rather a rich Unami depth to the bolognese.”
Despite being a strange choice, adding anchovies to a pasta sauce is a common trick by professional chefs when cooking as it makes the pasta sauce taste much richer, meatier and more flavourful.
The fish will provide a salty and savoury backbone to any meaty pasta sauce, so try it out with Ayeisha’a easy bolognese recipe to make a mouth-watering bowl of everyone’s favourite comfort pasta.
