Ragù Sauce with Pasta

A friend Davide in Bologna prepared a special dinner for my last night. Starting with salami, cheese and a drink: Spritz - a wine-based cocktail commonly served as an aperitif in northern Italy. Davide add a dash of liqueur into white wine and some ice and orange. This time the drink is lighter so I liked it a lot. Very refreshing with the cheese.

Then the main course is pasta with home-made Ragù sauce.

Ragù is an Italian term for a meat-based sauce, which is traditionally served with pasta. A ragù is usually made by adding meat to a soffritto (a partially-fried mixture of chopped onions, celery, carrots, seasonings, etc.), adding tomatoes and other flavourings, and then simmering for a long time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rag%C3%B9

It is special because he stole the Ragù sauce from his mom’s fridge. Ragù sauce takes hours to cook – like his father says, it takes 3 hours. So for a quick version, Davide just got the whole pot of sauce from his mother. I am so honored to taste homemade Ragù sauce in Bologna. Although his mother is not originally from Bologna, the sauce is not exactly the traditional Bolognese sauce. But I am not in Italian food protection association neither. All I know is the sauce taste great with pasta!