Pasta alla Genovese

Tonight’s pasta dish is one I had never heard of until I read about it on the NY Times Cooking site. Like several of the recent pasta dishes I have posted, this one has a multitude of variations. From my research, I went with a base recipe that I figured was the closest to the original/classic preparation. Similarly, like those other pasta dishes, this one also has just a few ingredients. The big difference is in the time it takes to make this dish. Genovese meat sauce takes many hours of cooking for the onions to break down and meld into the fork tender beef, essentially becoming one as ‘the sauce’. I will admit to being excited to make it after seeing this dish looking so delicious in pictures then becoming just a bit apprehensive about the time it takes to make this sauce. The reality is that the time requirement is needed to break the onions down fully, but it is basically an onion/beef sauce. No tomato, no garlic, and no basil or oregano either. So, I was up to the challenge as my other forays into classic Italian cuisine were deliciously successful. Will this dish meet my lofty expectations? You will have to read on to find out!

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Pasta alla Genovese

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 12 hours

Total time: 12 hours 20 mins

Serves: 1

Ingredients

6 oz beef chuck steak, cut into 1 inch cubes
12 oz onion, roughly chopped
1½ oz carrot, diced (about ½ medium to large carrot)
1 oz celery, diced (about ½ stalk)
1 oz prosciutto, pancetta, or bacon, diced
2 tsp olive oil, divided
¼ cup white wine
1 small bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
4 oz rigatoni
Parmesan, Romano, or Italian 3 cheese blend and finely chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions

In a medium sauce pan over Medium heat, add half the olive oil.
When shimmering, add the prosciutto.
Cook until browned and slightly crisped, approximately 3 - 5 minutes.
Remove to a clean bowl using a slotted spoon, reserving the oil and renderings in the sauce pan.
Increase the heat to Medium-High and add half the beef.
Quickly brown the beef cubes on all sides, approximately 3 - 5 minutes.
Remove the browned cubes to a clean bowl and repeat with the remaining beef cubes.
When the beef is browned and removed, add the carrots and celery to the sauce pan.
Reduce the heat to Medium/Medium-High and sweat the vegetables down for 2 - 3 minutes until the fond is picked up.
Add the white wine and reduce to half the original volume.
Add the onions, beef, prosciutto, and bay leaf to the vegetables with reduced wine.
Cook until onions begin to release their liquid before reducing the heat to Low and cooking for 8 - 10 hours at a bare simmer.
Stir the mixture occasionally and add water as needed if the mixture looks dry.
When the onions have mostly melted, uncover and increase heat to Medium.
Lightly caramelize the remaining onions and reduce the liquid to ¼ the remaining volume creating a sauce, approximately 20 minutes.
The beef should break apart very easily and meld into the sauce.
Serve over stout tubular pasta like rigatoni and ziti or even penne.
Garnish with cheese and chopped parsley as desired.

In a medium sauce pan over Medium heat, add half the olive oil. When shimmering, add the prosciutto. Cook until browned and slightly crisped, approximately 3 – 5 minutes.

Remove to a clean bowl using a slotted spoon, reserving the oil and renderings in the sauce pan. Increase the heat to Medium-High and add half the beef.

Quickly brown the beef cubes on all sides, approximately 3 – 5 minutes. Remove the browned cubes to a clean bowl and repeat with the remaining beef cubes.

When the beef is browned and removed, add the carrots and celery to the sauce pan.

Reduce the heat to Medium/Medium-High and sweat the vegetables down for 2 – 3 minutes until the fond is picked up. Add the white wine and reduce to half the original volume. Add the onions, beef, prosciutto, and bay leaf to the vegetables with reduced wine. Cook until onions begin to release their liquid before reducing the heat to Low and cooking for 8 – 10 hours at a bare simmer.

Stir the mixture occasionally and add water as needed if the mixture looks dry. When the onions have mostly melted, uncover and increase heat to Medium. Lightly caramelize the remaining onions and reduce the liquid to 1/4 the remaining volume creating a sauce, approximately 20 minutes. The beef should break apart very easily and meld into the sauce. Serve over stout tubular pasta like rigatoni and ziti or even penne. Garnish with cheese and chopped parsley as desired.