Recipe for Pasta Alla Genovese
Ingredients
2 ½ Pounds Beef Chuck Roast
4 Pounds Yellow Onions
2 Celery Stalks
1 Large Carrot
2 Tbsp Olive Oil – divided
1 Cup Dry White Wine (e.g. Sauvignon Blanc)
2 Bay Leaves
Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
Ziti Pasta
Grated Parmesan or Pecorino, for serving
Steps
1. Slice 4 pounds of onions into half-moons. Finely mince the celery and carrots for the soffritto.
2. Cut the chuck roast into 6 large cubes, and remove any large pockets of fat. Pat dry with paper towels, and season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high. Sear beef cubes on several sides until golden brown. Remove and set aside.
4. Lower heat to medium-low. Add 1 tsp olive oil, then the celery, carrots, and a handful of onions. Cook for 10 minutes or until softened.
5. Deglaze with 1 cup dry white wine. Add bay leaves. Let the liquid reduce by half turning the heat up to medium.
6. Return beef to pot. Add all the onions on top. Season generously with ½ tsp salt. Then cover and cook for 15 minutes so the onions can wilt.
7. Stir everything together very well, distributing the onions among the beef. Cover again, reduce heat to low, and braise for 3 hours. Stir and flip meat every 45 minutes.
8. After 3 hours, meat should be fork-tender. Shred some pieces into the sauce while leaving larger chunks intact. Remove bay leaves.
9. Uncover pot and simmer over medium-low until sauce thickens slightly.
10. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt generously and cook ziti until al dente.
11. In a separate sauté pan on low heat pour in a couple ladles of sauce. Once al dente toss pasta with sauce until well coated.
12. late pasta, top with more sauce and beef chunks, and finish with grated cheese.
This recipe for Pasta alla Genovese will teach you how to make one of the best Italian meat sauces (and some say the first one in Italy). This slow-braised onion and beef ragù is the perfect compliment for some ziti pasta. It is sweet, savory, and melts in your mouth.
00:00 Intro
00:27 Cut Onions & Veggies
00:58 Cut & Season Beef
01:23 Sear Beef
01:44 Cook soffritto
01:59 Deglaze
02:13 Add Beef & Onions
02:51 Braise
03:41 Cook Pasta
04:05 Finish & Serve
Before the widespread use of tomatoes in Italy, Italians were making this meat sauce composed of mainly onions and beef. And although the name pasta Ala Genovves might suggest the recipe comes from Genoa, it actually originates from in and around the Naples area where cooks would take secondary cuts of meat and braze it in a crazy amount of onions for several hours until everything melts together and makes a sweet and delicious ragu that is certainly worth the wait. We’re going to start by removing the ends. having and peeling about four pounds of onions before slicing them into half moons. The idea is to use about double the amount of onions compared to beef, which is important because the onions will provide most of the brazing liquid. Cut them fairly thin, but don’t worry about getting them all the same size because they’ll cook down and melt into the sauce. Next, you can finally mince about two stalks of celery. And we also want two small carrots or one large one to complete the sophrito. Traditionally, this would be made with cheaper cuts of meat, but it’s also the perfect recipe to use a chuck roast, which is ideal for long brazes. So, here I’m cutting a 2 and 12 lb roast into six large cubes. And you can also remove any large pockets of fat. Pat the meat dry very well with paper towels for the best possible sear. And then liberally season each side with salt and pepper. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a Dutch oven on mediumigh heat and place in the beef. Let it cook untouched for a few minutes before flipping over so it gets nice and golden brown. Don’t worry about browning all sides. Just make sure a few sides from each piece are fairly dark. Then take out the beef and reserve for later. With the heat now on medium low, add a fresh teaspoon of olive oil before dropping in the carrots and celery along with a handful of the sliced onion. Let that cook down for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once all the vegetables have softened, delaze with a glass or about 1 cup of dry white wine such as Svenon Blanc. Turn the heat up to medium so it can reduce and the alcohol evaporates. Go ahead and throw in a couple bay leaves as well. After the liquid has reduced by half, turn the heat back down to medium low and nestle in the beef, give the meat a flip and add some of the veggies on top before piling over the mound of sliced onions. It’s important to add a big pinch of salt or about a/ teaspoon directly to the onions so they release their moisture, creating the brazing liquid. Push and mix the onions up slightly before covering with a lid for about 15 minutes. After which you will more easily be able to stir in the onions with your tongs. So now mix everything up really well, making sure that all the onions are well distributed and some pieces of meat are poking through the top. Cover once again and turn the heat all the way down to low so it can maintain a slow simmer while it brazes for about 3 hours. And all we have to do is stir and flip the meat about every 45 minutes or so. Each time you check in on it, you’ll notice the onions slowly disappearing and turning into the sauce. At about the 3-hour mark, the meat should be fork tender and easily fall apart. Then you can begin breaking up the remaining larger pieces into smaller chunks. We want a good mixture of shredded meat that mixes into the sauce in larger pieces to serve on top of the pasta. You can also remove the two bay leaves. With the pot now uncovered, turn the heat up to medium low so the sauce can reduce further and thicken slightly. When the ragu is finished or close to completion, you can bring your pot of water to a boil and toss in a couple tablespoons of salt before dropping in your ziti, which is the traditional pasta shape for this dish. In a separate sauté pan on low heat, add a couple ladlefuls of the sauce and scoop in the pasta once it’s al dente. Begin tossing the pasta with the sauce so each piece is well coated and some of the meat finds its way into the ziti. Plate it up and of course serve with some extra spoonfuls of sauce and grated cheese before enjoying. Please leave any questions or thoughts in the comments and let me know if you plan on trying this one out. Thank you for watching.
1 Comment
This looks delicious!!!