Pasta alla Genovese Recipe

Pasta alla Genovese, Neapolitan beef and onion ragu with ziti.

Pasta alla Genovese Recipe

Pasta alla Genovese is an ancient Italian beef and onion ragu dating back to 15th century Naples, it's a simple dish that takes a long old time to cook, the mountain of onions (shallots in this version) deliver incredible flavour that gets a bit of zing from white wine and the beef is beautifully tender and shreds perfectly with no effort other than stirring!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Anglo Italian

Keyword Genovese Sauce, italian beef pasta, pasta alla genovese, pasta genovese

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 5 20

Total Time 5 40

Servings Servings with Leftovers

Calories 1201kcal

Author Brian Jones

Ingredients

400 g Stewing Beef 14oz
30 g Lard or Beef Dripping 2 tablespoon (Cooking oils also work)
¾ teaspoon Salt
750 g Echallion or Banana Shallots 13-17 Total
1 Medium Carrot 100g
2 Sticks Celery 70g
4 Anchovy Fillets
1 Bay Leaf
¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
½ Bottle Dry White Wine 350ml
175 g Dried Pasta 6oz I like to use Ziti
Salt For boiling pasta

Instructions

If your beef is not diced cut it into large 50mm (2") chunks.
Top and tail the shallots, cut them in half, then peel them. Then slice the shallots from top to tail (around 2-3mm or ⅛" thick).
You can do this in between browning the beef and sauteing the carrots and celery, but I would peel them first, as it can take a while.
Peel the carrot (if necessary) and cut it into a 4-5mm dice (just under ¼").
Clean the celery (if necessary) and cut it into a 4-5mm dice (just under ¼").
Heat a 24cm or 10" pot over a medium-high heat and add half of the lard or beef dripping.
Whilst the lard is melting, season the beef with the salt, then brown it in the lard, then remove and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining lard, and when it has melted, toss in the diced carrot and celery and cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Return the beef to the pan with any resting juices, the anchovy fillets, bay leaf and black pepper.
Reduce the heat to low, sprinkle the shallots over the top of the beef (it will be a thick layer), add a lid and cook for 3 hours.
Remove the lid and give everything a stir.
Turn the heat up a little (low-medium), and add half of the wine and cook for 1 hour. Stirring occasionally, this will help shred the beef.
Give everything a stir again, shredding the beef further, then add the remaining wine and cook for a final 45 minutes, again stirring occasionally.
10-15 minutes before the beef is ready, or you are ready to eat cook your pasta until it is al dente in a 20cm (8") pan of well salted water (I use 1½ teaspoons of water in a pan this size).
If you are using long ziti, break the pasta in to 3 or 4 pieces before cooking.
Combine the ragu with the pasta and a splash of the pasta cooking water, then serve.

Video

Nutrition