Chef Daniel Zeilinga at Casa di Langa, Piedmont, uses tomato water that is made by straining fresh tomatoes overnight and adding it to the ragu. This simplified version uses a tomato juice/water mixture, which makes the dish accessible at any time of the year. You can substitute tajarin with a pound of fresh egg pasta or 12-ounce dried thin spaghetti. The lean meat sauce is given a richer finish by adding a final drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Food & Wine Test Kitchen Note
Use pasture-raised eggs or free-range, deep orange yolks to give your tamarin its best color.
Find semolina and 00 flour at most specialty stores or online at italianfoodonline.com.
Make sure to get ahead.
Ragu can also be prepared up to two days ahead and kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Tajarin uncooked can be covered tightly with a floured baking sheet and stored in the fridge for up to a day. It can also be frozen for up to three weeks. Pasta can be directly cooked from frozen.
Pairings suggested
Lively, berry-inflected Barbera: Fontanafredda Briccotondo
Ingredients
Ragu
- One tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- 10 ounces mild Italian sausage, casings removed
- 6 ounces 90% lean ground veal
- One finely chopped white onion (about 1 1/2 cups), small (6-ounce)
- Medium celery (about 4 ounces), finely chopped and trimmed (about 3/4 cup).
- 2 1 small carrot (about 3 1/2 ounces), peeled, finely chopped (about half cup)
- One teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1/3 cup dry white wine (such as Arneis)
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 3/4 cup tomato juice (such as Campbell’s) (1 [5 1/2-ounce] can)
- 3 (5-inch) thyme sprigs
- Two fresh bay leaves
- 1 (5-inch) sage sprig
- 1 (5-inch) rosemary sprig
Tajarin
- 1 1/3 cups fine semolina flour (such as Caputo) (about 7 3/4 ounces), plus more for dusting
- 1/4 cup 00 flour (such as Caputo) (about 1 1/8 ounces), plus more for dusting
- 14 large egg yolks
Additional Ingredients
- 4 quarts water
- 1/4 cup fine sea salt
Directions
Make the ragu
- Heat oil in a medium Dutch oven on medium. Add the sausage and veal. Stir often to crumble meat, then cook for 6-8 minutes. Add celery, onion, carrots, and salt; stir often until vegetables are softened but not caramelized. This should take about 8 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring often to remove browned bits at the bottom of the Dutch oven, for about 2 minutes. Add 1 3/4 cups of water and tomato liquid. Use kitchen twine to tie together the thyme leaves, bay, sage, and rosemary into a bouquet. Add to Dutch oven. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for about 2 hours, stirring every so often. Remove the bouquet garni and throw it away. Add salt and pepper according to your taste. Keep the ragu warm on low heat until you are ready to use it.
Make the tajarin while the ragu is cooking.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the semolina and 00 flour. Transfer to a large, clean work surface. Create a hole about 5 inches across in the center of the flour mixture. Add the egg yolks and whisk with a fork. With a spoon, push a small amount of flour mixture into the eggs from the inside edge. Whisk with a fork until it is just incorporated. Continue to incorporate the flour mixture into the eggs, whisking with a spoon as you go until a shaggy-looking dough is formed.
- Knead the dough for 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and shape into a ball. Let rest at room temp for at least an hour or up to three hours.
- Divide dough evenly into four portions. Flatten the dough by working with one piece of dough at a time while covering the remaining portions with a cloth. Roll the flattened dough with the rollers at their widest setting through a pasta maker. Reroll the dough through the pasta machine, folding it in half crosswise. The dough should be as wide as your pasta machine (5 to 5 1/2 inches). Continue rolling the dough through the pasta machine by reducing the roller width one set at a.
- Fold dough in half, crosswise. Dust with 00 flour on both sides. Start by rolling the dough very loosely, starting at the folded edge. This will form long coiled strings. Log crosswise, cut into pieces 1/8 inch wide. Unroll the log, sprinkle with 00-flour, and cut the pasta strands into pieces 12-14 inches long. Transfer the pasta strands to a baking sheet with a rim dusted with semolina and cover with plastic. Repeat the process with the remaining three dough portions.
- Bring 4 quarts of water to a rolling boil in a large saucepan on medium-high. Add salt and bring back to a spot. Add the tajarin and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove tajarin using a fine-mesh sieve or spider and add it to the ragu in the Dutch oven. Stirring often, cook ragu uncovered over medium heat until it thickens and coats the tamarin. This should take 2 to 3 mins. Divide the mixture evenly between 4 to 6 bowls. Serve immediately, drizzling with extra oil.
