Tagliatelle The everyday egg pasta ribbon, explained.

Tagliatelle are flat ribbons of fresh egg pasta, cut roughly 6 to 8 millimetres wide. They are the everyday ribbon of northern and central Italy — narrow enough to twist onto a fork, broad enough to carry a proper meat ragù, which is why they are the shape most people picture when they think of fresh pasta.

Nests of fresh tagliatelle ribbons resting on a floured board

From: Emilia-Romagna, made across Tuscany
Dough: egg dough — flour and egg
Width: 6–8 mm
Name from: tagliare, to cut
Classic sauces: ragù, funghi, butter and herbs
Difficulty: the cut that teaches you knife control

The ribbon everything else is measured against

Tagliatelle come from Bologna, where the width is taken seriously enough that the local chamber of commerce once lodged a gold reference strip to settle arguments about it. Eight millimetres cooked is the Bolognese standard. Nobody in a Tuscan kitchen measures, but the target is the same.

Tuscany cooks them constantly regardless of where they were born, because they are the useful ribbon: wide enough for a substantial sauce, narrow enough to eat without a fight, and quick enough to be a Tuesday dinner rather than an occasion.

How they are cut

Roll the egg dough into a thin sheet, let it dry for a few minutes until it is leathery rather than tacky — this is the step people skip, and it is why their ribbons stick together — then flour it generously, roll it into a loose flat log and cut across with a sharp knife.

Then lift each cut immediately and shake it loose. Left in the roll, ribbons weld into a brick within minutes. Toss them in a little semolina and coil them into loose nests until the water boils. Tagliatelle are the shape that teaches you knife control, because at 6 mm a wandering cut is obvious in a way it never is on pappardelle.

What to put on them

A proper ragù — slow-cooked minced beef and pork with soffritto, wine and a very little tomato — is the pairing, and in Bologna it is the only one anybody will admit to. Note what it is not served with: spaghetti. That is a foreign invention and it will be pointed out to you.

Beyond ragù, tagliatelle are superb with mushrooms, with butter and sage when you want something quiet, and with a simple tomato and basil when the tomatoes are actually good. The ribbon is narrow enough that a light sauce still coats it properly.

Roll it yourself.

We teach all four of these shapes in a three-hour class in our Oltrarno kitchen — hands in the flour from the first minute, then everyone sits down to eat what they made. Max 8 guests, €95.

See the class

Questions, answered.

What is the difference between tagliatelle and fettuccine?

Region and dimensions. Tagliatelle come from Emilia-Romagna and are cut around 6–8 mm wide and very thin. Fettuccine are Roman, cut slightly narrower but noticeably thicker. In practice they are close cousins and are often used interchangeably outside Italy.

What sauce goes with tagliatelle?

A slow-cooked meat ragù is the classic and, in Bologna, effectively the only accepted answer. Mushrooms, butter and sage, or a good tomato and basil all work well too — the ribbon is narrow enough that lighter sauces still coat it.

Why do my tagliatelle stick together?

Almost always because the sheet was still tacky when it was cut, or the ribbons were left rolled up after cutting. Let the sheet dry to a leathery feel first, flour it well, and shake each cut loose the moment it comes off the knife.

How thin should the dough be?

Thin enough to see the shape of your hand through it, but not so thin it tears when you lift it. For ribbons that is thinner than you would roll for filled shapes, because there is no filling to protect.

All pasta shapes

Pici

Siena's thick hand-rolled strand — flour, water, no egg.

Pappardelle

The widest ribbon — built to carry wild boar and hare.

Tortelli

The filled parcel — in Tuscany, most often potato.

All pasta shapes