From Soil to Plate: A Chef’s Journey to Tagliate with Courtyard Ragù

Italia Squisita

Summary Date: 2025-11-19 19:00:35

# From Soil to Plate: A Chef’s Journey to Tagliate with Courtyard Ragù ### Introduction The chef narrates a lifelong dream of becoming a cook who transforms what the earth produces. Inspired by his father’s advice to trust the land, he runs a sustainable farm with greenhouses, chemical‑free carrots, rotating crops, and a community market that offers affordable, seasonal produce. ### Farm‑to‑Table Philosophy - **Zero chemical fertilization** – crops are grown organically. - **Full‑cycle usage** – vegetable scraps become broth; every part of the animal is utilized. - **Educational mission** – visitors learn the journey from seed to harvest to plate. - **Family heritage** – the kitchen is an extension of the land, the garden, and the family’s knowledge. ### The Dish: Tagliatelle with Courtyard Ragù #### Cultural Significance - Tagliatelle is described as the "red thread" of an Emilian family, a daily staple that unites generations. - "Courtyard ragù" uses meats traditionally raised on the farm (rabbit, duck, hen) because larger livestock were not always available. #### Ingredients - **Mirepoix**: golden onion, white onion, carrots, celery (ratio 1:2:2) finely julienned. - **Garlic**: a small clove for extra aroma. - **Meats**: rabbit (hip and shoulder), hen (skin ground, meat diced), duck (diced, skin retained). - **Broth**: made from carcasses and vegetable scraps. - **Wine**: farm‑produced white Sauvignon‑Semillon for deglazing. - **Tomato sauce**: homemade summer sauce, used sparingly to keep the ragù lightly red. - **Seasonings**: salt added after deglazing, freshly ground black pepper, Parmigiano crusts. - **Pasta**: fresh tagliatelle made with 00 flour, farm‑fresh eggs (1 egg per 100 g flour), pinch of salt, optional water. #### Preparation Steps 1. **Mirepoix** – chop vegetables finely without over‑processing to preserve juices. 2. **Meat preparation** – trim close to bone, slice rabbit lengthwise, dice; grind hen skin for collagen; dice duck, keeping fatty skin. 3. **Searing** – heat seed oil, sear all meat quickly for a brown crust, then set aside. 4. **Deglazing** – in the same pan, melt butter, sweat mirepoix, then deglaze with white wine until reduced. 5. **Building the sauce** – return meat, add salt, simmer until wine evaporates, stir in modest tomato sauce, pepper, and broth. 6. **Long simmer** – add ground hen skin for extra fat and collagen; cook gently for 2½–3 hours. 7. **Pasta dough** – mix flour, fresh eggs, and salt; rest 30–40 minutes; roll thick, cut tagliatelle, let dry slightly. 8. **Final assembly** – blanch tagliatelle briefly, finish cooking in the ragù so the pasta absorbs the sauce, finish with Parmigiano shards and a modern plating. ### The Philosophy Behind the Technique - **Sharp knives** are essential to avoid crushing vegetables and to keep flavors intact. - **Using 100 % of raw material** reflects a respect for the land and reduces waste. - **Slow cooking** develops depth of flavor and allows collagen to bind the sauce. - **Freshness** of eggs and flour determines the texture of the pasta; the dough must be elastic, not tearing. ### Closing Thoughts The chef thanks Italia Squisita for the platform, reflects on his ancestors’ legacy, and emphasizes that results born from heart and tradition achieve the highest standards. He ends with a vision of the farm’s future—new calves, thriving cows, and a continued commitment to sustainable, heartfelt cooking. The core lesson is that true culinary excellence stems from a deep, respectful connection to the land, using every part of the harvest and animal, and honoring family traditions through slow, mindful preparation.

Full Transcript

Well, this is the place of the soul.
A dream I've had since I was
a child. I chose to be a chef.
They call me
chef now, but anyway
cook, because I wanted to
transform all the things
we already produced.
My father used to say:
"Looks at the earth,
it will always help you
anyway", and that came true.
This, for example,
is one of our greenhouses
and we harvest carrots there.
They are definitely
not as beautiful as the ones
we see in the supermarket,
but they are intoxicating.
No chemical fertilization, no
treatment, rotation
of the cultivations,
the people of the town who
come to buy and
sell, the prices - very
affordable, the agricultural
prices. From all the
seasonal vegetables,
we move on
to the preserves, all the jars and then
the eggs of our
hens.  And oh well, I
think it's the dream
of many chefs,
I realized it. There is also an educational
aspect, if we want to put it with
different words,
think about the luxury
of the guys who work
with us, to come and
know from the seed to the
harvest of the
product and then
we cook it, we transform it.
Today we will talk
about an important
recipe, a tagliatelle
with meat sauce
from the courtyard, a dish that comes
from my system, comes from my
land, that comes
from my garden, that comes
from my farm, where my soul is,
my heart, where there is
the knowledge of
all my family, where
I go absolutely every day
to get inspired and take
what I need to do my cooking.
What is tagliatelle for me?  What is
tagliatelle for
someone born in Emilia,
in a country family where pasta
was filled on
Sundays, but that of
every day was
tagliatelle. It is
the red thread of
a family when they
sit at the table around
a plate of tagliatelle.
And why tagliatelle with courtyard
ragù? It's a courtyard ragù because the
the farmers' meat was rabbit,
the duck, the hen because the
ox wasn't always there
and therefore the
courtyard entered the plate.
Lorenzo, who is
my right-hand man
in the kitchen, is
preparing this important ragù.
- Let's start with the
preparation of
the ragù, so in this
case we start with
the vegetables. We will
have golden onion,
white onion. We have to
obtain a very fine mirepoix,
without chopping it too much
so as not to then
have to take it back
and chop it a second
time, but keeping
therefore also the organoleptic properties,
the onion juices unchanged.
We then continue with the other vegetables,
therefore carrots and celery.
Let's proceed with
the strips, therefore
a very fine julienne.
The important thing
when you clean the vegetables is
to definitely have
to have a knife that is well
sharpened so as not to crush
the vegetable, not oxidize it, but simply
to be able to cut it well and
then work with the knife blade.
Let's continue with the
celery, let's wash it,
you should never throw
away anything, all of the
vegetable scraps,
all the waste,
then they will be
used in our broth,
precisely because
as in the mentality
of our land, the
one that is also
spreading around the world is to
use 100% of the raw material.
In different proportions we then
obtained our mirepoix. Onion and about
twice as much carrot and celery.
Let's add to the classic
soffritto of any self-respecting ragù
also a small clove
of garlic, because
we still want to
have a nice boost
of flavour.  We want to
maintain the important
taste of this ragù
that will be given
from the very gentle cooking of the meat.
Here we will
therefore have rabbit, hen
and duck, two types of birds, white
and red meat. And then the rabbit,
another animal that is also
part of our courtyard.
We start cutting by
following the hip and
then with the knife we
always proceed close
to the bone so as
not to have any type
of waste. Let's move
on to the shoulder.
Once the rabbit has been boned,
we then proceed to cut its meat.
Initially, we slice lengthwise,
taking care not
to break the
fibrous parts which will then fall apart
during cooking. They will also help binding
our ragù and then, always in a transverse
fashion, we move on to our cubes.
This hen
had a thick skin,
in fact in this case we
are going to peel it
and grind it finely,
then we pass it
through the meat grinder
in such a way that
it melts and gives value and
collagen to our
ragù, whereas the meat -
like for the rabbit -
will be diced.
They have two different meats, the hen
like the guinea
fowl, the breast,
the top part will be a
white meat that is more
firm, while the thigh part
and above the thigh will be
a meat that is
darker, therefore also juicier
and tastier.
In this case we need
both to give flavor
to the ragù and at
the same time
consistency. Let's move on
to cleaning and dicing
the last animal, the
duck. The duck,
unlike the hen,
will have undergone
a drying process in a cell,
so that the meat
can firm up well
and increase the juiciness
and the succulence.
Duck skin is fattier
compared to that of the hen, in
this case we can
keep it on
our cubes because it will
melt directly while cooking.
Well, then let's
start with cooking
the ragù. In this case we have a
round pan where we are going to add
some seed oil, it must be
very hot in order to have a nice
meat sealing.
Let's add all of our meats
that we diced. The cooking is very quick
in this case, we then
quickly sear the meat so as
to have a nice
sealing of the pores
and so as not to lose too
much juices while
cooking because
otherwise we will get
a result that is almost
boiled, however, in
this case we want it to be well browned.
The caramelization of sugars and
meats will give additional
flavor, so we will also have
a more durable taste on the palate.
Here we are, now that we have browned
the meat, let's remove it.
Now we continue in the same pan,
still hot,
with a pat of butter.
Same pan,
because we'll have all of this
browning stuck
to the bottom of the
pan which will then melt in our
sauce. The moment of deglazing.
The butter is hot,
and then we continue with our mirepoix.
As you can see, we don't have
any liquid on the bottom of the pan,
we only have the fat part of the
butter. We'll lower
the heat and let it
sweat for a few minutes.
Let's add the previously
browned meat again.
A wine from our farm could
not be missing, obviously one
of many, in this
case a white wine
made from Sauvignon
and Semillon grapes, nice and
mineral but at the same time aromatic.
Abundant wine in
this case, because
we really want a
reduction that gives
that important part of acidity to
our ragù. Only now can we
add the salt because we
no longer need sealing, but in
in this case we want to extract
all the juices from our meats.
As you can see it has dried well,
we have lost the alcoholic and wine part,
we can use the tomato sauce
that we make in the summer and then
put away to store.
We don't add
too much tomato
because we don't want it
to be a red ragù but
rather to be slightly
red, therefore the classic courtyard ragù,
as it was made back in the day.
I'm also adding a touch
of pepper, in
this case freshly ground
black pepper and
let's cover it with plenty of broth,
a broth that we have obtained
directly from the
carcasses of the
animals we have
processed for this
ragù. While cooking,
we are going to add
the skins that
we removed previously
from the hen by
grinding them twice so as
to have them very
fine. They will then have
the fat part that
will help in the flavor
and at the same time its collagen
will melt and fall
apart inside
the sauce and then
bind everything.
Let's start with the cooking. A very
slow, gentle cooking. It needs to
simmer. It will take around
two and a half, three hours
cooking time.
- Meanwhile the ragù
is cooking, I'm here to tell
you about the pasta. Fresh pasta
is fundamental in our
cuisine, in our culture.
Above all, making pasta
is not a simple thing. I am
lucky because I have
my own flours, they
are quality flours,
I produce them myself
according to my system. If you
don't have these
flours, quality flours
as long as they are 00, pastry flour.
Our eggs are special because
we use eggs that are laid in
the same day and this is
fundamental. We also make other
dishes with eggs
and I can assure you
that if the eggs
are not fresh
we cannot make that
dish and therefore
it is truly essential to use quality products,
but more than anything else fresh ones.
We add one egg for every 100
grams of flour, a pinch of salt,
that's all.
If the eggs are
larger or smaller,
eventually if
they don't mix well
just add a little water
in, that's OK.
Once the dough is
finished, we let it rest
for half an hour or 40 minutes,
depending on
the size of the dough.
We are almost done cooking our
ragù, about 30 minutes
of cooking time left.
Let's add three finely
chopped Parmigiano crusts that won't
melt but become very soft
so as to give flavor.
This is the idea of grandma's broth
when she always added the
Parmigiano crust. I'm sure that
this is how it was done in all of Italy.
- While Lorenzo
is in the kitchen,
I also remind you
that I'm on this
important book by ItaliaSquisita
on Pasta. I'm in there with
my lasagna, a
historic lasagna
that comes from my heart,
from the heart of my family, but
above all from so much commitment
and so much gratitude towards my
parents, my ancestors,
who nevertheless
continued to carry this important
system of a quality kitchen forward.
What should the pasta be like? The pasta
must be silky. The pasta must be
nicely blended. When we roll
the pasta you have to feel it as if
it was something elastic,
an elastic that never tears, though.
We roll it out
quite thick, but not
too much, so that I have the
time to cream them
when I put them in
the sauce, in the
ragù. If they are too thin
we can't season them well
because they cook immediately.
Then we let it dry slightly
and we can cut our tagliatelle.
From that moment,
tagliatelle is ready to be
blanched, but not long because
afterward I want to add them in the ragù,
I want them to finish
cooking in the ragù
because the, let's
say, fatty parts of these
meats will act as binder.
A little thicker, so
that we have a little
more time to leave
them in the sauce, so
that the taste of
the ragù also enters
the pasta that receives
this flavour, then
we add just a
little Parmigiano and then
we plate them
in a modern way.
Well, these are our tagliatelle
with courtyard ragù,
but above all the
tagliatelle from the heart.
We have now reached the end of this
wonderful video
and my gratitude goes to Italia
Squisita, because every now and then
they allow me
to tell what I have
inside, my system, my willpower,
my stubbornness,
sometimes my annoyance, too,
to get to the final result. The
results, when they come from the heart,
are always of
a high standard and
these are satisfactions. Seeing my
tradition going forward,
but more than
anything else,
when I come here
I leave all my thoughts at the door
and live my life. I live
my past, I live what I did
and my satisfaction
because I look
forward. Seeing the little calf that
was born three days ago,
these cows...

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