Italian chef’s warning over bolognese mistake most home cooks make

A top Italian pasta chef has warned that many of us are making a staple dish in the world of pasta wrong.

According to Roberta d’Elia, head chef at Pasta Evangelists in London, the meal is often made completely wrong as the preparation doesn’t match up with the region that the dish originates from.

Whether you’re making it at home, or eating it at a restaurant, a common favourite is the classic spaghetti bolognese – a rich, meaty sauce paired with the classic pasta shape we all love. However, the Mirror reports that we shouldn’t be using spaghetti at all, as many Italians would prefer to have their bolognese served with something different.

Roberta d’Elia, who is originally from Puglia in southern Italy, said: “You might not know but in Italy we have around 250 to 300 different shapes of pasta, it’s exactly the same product but for Italians, there is a huge difference between spaghetti and fusilli for instance.

“We know it’s the same product but it is important to pair the right pasta with the right sauce. An example of this is spaghetti bolognese.

“The Italians don’t really like spaghetti alla bolognese, they would prefer tagliatelle alla bolognese with cheese.”

She says that using the right ingredients for the dish is a sign of respect for where the meal originates from.

Speaking to the Mirror, Roberta recently explained: “The sauce is from Bologna so we want to pair it with the typical pasta shape of the region, so that’s why we would always pair tagliatelle with the bolognese.

“It’s to please people from these regions.”

She continued: “We’re very serious about shape and this also applies to carbonara as well. Some people want to be more extreme and will pair it with whatever shape they fancy, but let me tell you, it should be bucatini or spaghetti for this sauce.”

Another common mistake that people make when preparing bolognese is trying to add too much to the dish – for example, beef stock and mushrooms. 

But apparently this takes away from the simplicity of the meal, and adding any extras should be avoided.

Roberta added: “It should be made in a traditional way using different cuts of meat, with a beautiful tomato sauce, and then infused and cooked for hours, but no mushrooms please.”