Homemade tagliatelle with beef meatballs and Grana Padano tomato sauce

Ingredients

• 400 g Wheat flour (type 00 or all‑purpose) (Sift before use)
• 4 pcs Eggs (Large eggs, at room temperature)
• 1 pinch Salt (Fine salt)
• 300 g Ground beef (15 % fat, fresh)
• 50 g Bread croutons (stale bread) (Toast at 180°C for 20 min with a drizzle of olive oil and Herbes de Provence)
• 30 ml Vegetable broth (To rehydrate the croutons)
• 1 cs Flat‑leaf parsley (Finely chopped)
• 2 cloves Garlic (1 clove for the filling, 1 clove for the sauce)
• 2 pcs Shallot (1 small for the filling, 1 small for the sauce)
• 80 g Grana Padano (aged >20 months) (Grated, 30 g in the filling, 30 g in the sauce, the rest for serving)
• 4 cs Extra‑virgin olive oil (2 cs for cooking the meatballs, 2 cs for the sauce)
• 400 g Canned tomato pulp (No added salt)
• to taste Black pepper
• 1 cs Herbes de Provence (For the croutons)

Instructions

1. Prepare the tagliatelle dough

   Sift the flour onto the work surface, make a well, crack the 4 eggs into it and add a pinch of salt. Beat the eggs with a fork, gradually incorporate the flour from the edge toward the centre until a coarse dough forms, then knead by hand for 10 minutes until you obtain a smooth, homogeneous ball.

   Time: PT1H10M

2. Dough resting

   Wrap the dough ball in cling film and place it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to relax.

   Time: PT1H

3. Rolling and cutting the tagliatelle

   Lightly flour the work surface, roll out the dough with a rolling pin (or a machine) until you reach a thickness of 1 to 2 mm. Dust with flour and cut strips 7 mm wide to form tagliatelle, place them on a rack or a clean kitchen towel.

   Time: PT10M

4. Prepare the croutons and rehydrate them

   Cut stale bread into small cubes, spread them on a tray, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with Herbes de Provence and bake at 180°C for 20 minutes. Once golden, place them in a bowl and rehydrate with 30 ml vegetable broth for 5 minutes until they are soft.

   Time: PT25M

   Temperature: 180°C

5. Prepare the meatball filling

   In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, rehydrated croutons, chopped parsley, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 small finely chopped shallot, 30 g grated Grana Padano, salt and pepper. Work the mixture by hand until you obtain a homogeneous texture.

   Time: PT5M

6. Form the meatballs

   Take a small portion of filling (about 20 g) and roll between the palms to form well‑rounded, compact meatballs.

   Time: PT5M

7. Brown the meatballs

   Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat, add the meatballs and brown them on all sides for about 5 minutes without excessive stirring.

   Time: PT5M

8. Prepare the tomato sauce

   In the same pan, add 2 tbsp olive oil, sauté the second garlic clove and the second shallot for 2 minutes. Add the tomato pulp, season with salt and pepper and let thicken over medium heat for 10 minutes.

   Time: PT12M

9. Simmer the meatballs in the sauce

   Return the browned meatballs to the sauce, cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes until they are cooked through and well infused with the sauce.

   Time: PT10M

10. Cook the fresh tagliatelle

    Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, drop in the tagliatelle and cook 3 to 4 minutes depending on thickness. Drain quickly and set aside.

    Time: PT5M

11. Plating and serving

    Toss the tagliatelle with the sauce and meatballs, divide onto plates, drizzle with a little olive oil and generously sprinkle the remaining grated Grana Padano.

    Time: PT5M

Nutrition Facts

Calories

880

Protein

38 g

Carbohydrates

83 g

Fat

28 g

Fiber

5 g