PHOTOGRAPHY
ALICIA
TAYLOR (RAG
Ù) & GETTY IMAGES (BOLOGNA).
STYLING LYNSEY FRYERS.I
t wasthemid-1970sandI wasaboutto
readItalianat theUniversityofEdinburgh.
Myknowledgeofthelanguagewaslimited
tothebitsandbobsI’dpickedupfrom
thestilteddialoguesofBBCTVcourses
andphrasebooks.I’dneverbeenoutofthe
UKbefore,nevermindtoItaly,thecountryofmy
teenagedreams.So,EurailPassticketinmypocket
andrucksackonmyback,I setofffora month
travellingaroundthecountrybeforethedegree
coursebegan.It wasa chanceat lasttovisittheart
townsI’donlyreadaboutandeatthefoodI’donly
everseeninphotographs.I spenta lotoftimeon
trains,butif theywererunninglate,if I hada long
timetowait,allthebetter.Backthen,everyItalian
station,eventhesmallest,hada trattoriaofitsown,
servingbasicbutdeliciouslocalfood.Andif I wasjust
passingthrough,therewerehawkersontheplatforms
sellingthesamestufffromstainless-steelcookingcarts.
Whichbringsmetoragùandanepiphanyona
platforminBolognastation.Anelderlywhite-coated
manwasbawlinghiswares– “Tagliatelleal ragù!
Tagliatelle al ragù!” – and I was on a train headed forFlorence.I askedfora portion.Hespoonedit into
a foiltrayandhandedit upthroughthecompartment
window.I knewwhattagliatellewere,butragù?What
wasthat?It turnedouttobewhatI knewassugo
dicarne,meatsauce:richandunctuous,withonly
theslightesthintoftomato,asis theBologneseway,
moreburntumberthanred,highlyaddictive.
Afterthat,I orderedragùwhereverI went– and
contrivedcomplicateddetourstogothroughBologna
stationwheneverI could.I wassupposedtobehaving
a totalimmersionintheItalianlanguagebutI was
drowninginItalianpastasauce.
LikemanyotherItalianculinaryterms– suchas
besciamella(béchamel),say,orfricassea(fricassée)or
crespella(crêpe)– thewordragùcomesfromFrench.
Fromragoût:meat,fishorvegetables,cutintopieces
andstewed.AndragùallaBologneseis theragùpar
excellence.AntonellaCampanini,a foodhistorian
fromReggioEmilia,nearBologna,tellsmethat,
inheropinion,ragùallaBolognesestartedbeing
ladledoverpasta– inBologna,eggpasta– inthe
late18thcentury.Shereckonsit wasthefortunate
invention of someone in a kitchen somewhere.➤OnetasteoftagliatellealragùinBolognawasallittooktobehooked,writes
JOHN IRVING, but it was merely the tip of a pasta-sauce obsession.
GOURMET TRAVELLER 69