Mayor of Bologna, Italy, on crusade to expose fake spaghetti Bolognese

The mayor of the northern Italian city of Bolognawants you to know that what youprobably think is spaghetti Bologneseis nothing like the pasta and meat sauce made famous by the city.

Does your recipe include garlic or cream? How about oregano, basil or parsley? And what about spaghettiitself?

Guess what? You're not eating spaghettiBologneseor at least not the original recipeknown in Italy simply as pasta al raguor pasta with meat sauce.

The real thing is a slow-cooked sauce made with small chunks of beef and pork, bits of celery, carrots and onions with a dash of tomato sauce and a long simmer in wine. And it does not go with slippery smooth spaghetti, but a rougher, flatter noodle tagliatelle or pappardelle that the sauce can adhere to.

"Dear citizens," Mayor Virginio Merola recently tweeted in Italian. "Regarding fake news, I am collecting photos of spaghetti Bolognese from around the world," urging followers to share imageswith him.

Italians living in countries from Slovenia to Ireland posted bastardized versions of the Italian recipe, along with their amused comments.

One Italian woman in England posted photos of plastic-wrappedBolognese with mushrooms and seasonings, declaring, "Someone has to do something!"

Another Italian from Ireland ironically said of a microwavable version with the sauce on top, "Can't wait to eat this."

Other versions included dehydrated packages with ingredients ofzucchinis, mushrooms and what looked like asparagus.

"Spaghetti Bolognese doesn't actually exist;yet, it's famous the world over," Mayor Merola complained to Italian public radio RAI, referring to the fact that no one in Italy has heard of a dish by thatname.

"What we'd prefer the world to know is that Bologna invented tagliatelle, tortellini and lasagna," he said. "We did not invent [these versions of] so-called spaghetti Bolognese. Sure, these versions havebrought us attention, but in terms of gastronomy, there are a lot better dishes here than that."

How to make the real stuff

Ragualla bolognese is one of the most famous dishes of the central Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. While slight variations exist, the official recipe for the sauce was deposited at Bologna's Chamber of Commerce by a local delegation of the Academy of Italian Cuisine in October 1982. This recipe recommends using a rather fat cut of meat locally called cartellaor folderlocated on the belly of the cow. For a less fatty sauce, leaner meats are often used, with bacon replacing the sausage.

Ingredientsfor recipe from the Academy of Italian Cuisine

• 250 ml of meat broth
• 50 gof butter
• 250 gof ground beef
• 250 gof ground pork shoulder
• 100 gof ground bacon
• 100 gof carrots (1 carrot)
• 1 medium onion
• 50 gof celery
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 glass of wine
• 500 gof tomato pulp
• 100 gof tomato paste
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Finely chop onions, peeled carrots and celery; saut with olive oil and butter.

When the butter is melted and the ingredients browned, add the pork and brown it, stirring occasionally. Then add the bacon (or sausage) and beef. Pour in the glass of wine and let it evaporate. Dissolve the tomato paste in a little beef stock; add it to the meat and mix well.

Add salt, pepper, tomato pulp and some water. Stir well and cook the sauce for about two hours, gradually adding the remaining stock.