> Controversy surrounding the dish resurfaced last month, when Antonio Carluccio became the latest in a long line of chefs to complain that one of Britain’s favourite “Italian” dishes did not, in fact, exist in Italy

Food snobs like those really get on my nerves. I mean, it's one thing when one starts adding cream to carbonara (or make it with just cream, like they do in the UK) but swapping spaghetti for tagliatelle is hardly a crime. And like the article said, people in Italy are not that anal about the type of pasta - ragù is one of the universal sauces you serve with anything. I grew up eating Spaghetti al Ragù on sundays in my local trattoria.

Besides, ragù alla bolognese is only ONE type of ragù. There are others, even if we just to stick to the traditional ones, which are eaten with all sort of pasta shapes: hare ragù (pappardelle), sicilian ragù (eaten with small ring pasta), neapolitan ragù (maccheroni or rigatoni), lamb ragù, pork ragù...

And throwing a hissy fit for adding a bit of garlic, surely, it doesn't go well with the sauce, but it's hardly a crime against humanity.