Pasta Alla Genovese

By Mark Bittman

Updated May 31, 2023

  • Michael Kraus for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
3½ hours
Rating
5(1,842)
Comments
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To many Neapolitans, the beef sauce La Genovese is at the heart of the city's cooking. Yet it’s little more than onions (lots of them) and beef, simmered until both fall apart. Boiling the onions before cooking is a variation on traditional technique and could be considered a shortcut; it does save time, though not a whole lot of it. It's easy enough, and more traditional, to slice the onions raw and increase cooking time accordingly.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

  • 4 ¼ pounds red onions

  • ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

  • 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

  • 1 celery rib, trimmed and roughly chopped

  • ¼ pound bacon or pancetta, chopped

  • 2 ¼ pounds beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • ¼ cup dry white wine, plus more if desired

  • 1 pound dried pasta, like ziti, tortiglioni or rigatoni

  • Finely grated Parmesan cheese

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 to 8 servings)

68 grams carbs; 90 milligrams cholesterol; 628 calories; 12 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 22 grams fat; 7 grams fiber; 1110 milligrams sodium; 40 grams protein; 13 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the onions in the boiling water, and cook, covered, 15 minutes. Drain the onions, and let cool a bit, then slice very thinly.

  2. Step 2

    Heat half the oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat; stir in the carrots, celery and bacon, and cook for 4 minutes. Add the beef, then cover with the onions. Pour the remaining oil over the onions, then sprinkle with 1 ½ teaspoons salt and ¾ teaspoon pepper. Cover, bring to a simmer and cook gently until the beef is tender, about 2 hours; the onions will release a good deal of liquid.

  3. Step 3

    Uncover the pot and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring more frequently as the liquid reduces and lowering the heat as necessary to prevent scorching, until the meat has fallen apart and the sauce is creamy, about 45 minutes. Stir in the wine and taste, adding more wine if desired. Reduce the heat to low, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce is glossy and quite thick, about 15 minutes more.

  4. Step 4

    Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, then drain and toss with the sauce. Stir in Parmesan to taste, then serve.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,842 user ratings
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Comments

von

This recipe doesnt include white wine.... please add it when boiling the meat. And the cuts of beef matter. You should use the rump like in pot roast. I live in naples italy and my italy mom cooks this once a week for me. Ih and if you are gonna boil the onions, do it in wine. It makes all the difference. They should almost be a paste when done. I tried posting before but it didnt post.

Andria

I slice my onions and layer them with salt cover them in water and put a plate over them with something heavy on the plate to keep weight on them pressing them down. I let them sit for about 30 minutes and then rinse them thoroughly before I start the recipe. The salt breaks down the onion some and help to absorb the water. My mother in law taught me how to make this dish over 35 years ago. My husband and his family moved here from Naples when he was 8 years old. It's a family favorite. ♡

Peter

It was fantastic - rich, glossy, almost creamy. Rereading the recipe makes my mouth water. On the topic of the onions - I completely cheated - I sliced and layered them in a pyrex, added a little water, covered them with wet paper towels and steamed them a bit in the microwave. Takes the slime factor out of the equation.

R. Bruce Magee

This is a good "base" as a recipe, but it's bland and brown with no other color and needs help. Add in six carrots, not two. Add in three celery stalks, not one. Add in two or even three teaspoons of dried thyme leaves for FLAVOR. I added in two cups of white wine. You might even consider a couple of medium turnips, also coarsely chopped. Then you will have lovely looking and tasting "pot roast" on pasta.

Aimee

Awesome dish. I halved the recipe but otherwise made it as written. Should have read the comments about the onions beforehand because the boiled onion’s texture made me gag a bit and they’re simply difficult to handle and slice. The outcome, though, was amazing. My husband “doesn’t like onions,” so I was a little concerned that he would see all the onion and prejudge the flavor, but they cook down so much that they basically disintegrate and you can’t even see them. That may be an advantage to boiling the whole onion first if you have folks who don’t like onions! They add amazing flavor and moisture but it doesn’t taste oniony. I’ll have to see how it turns out without boiling them.

Lily

Loved it but ended up cooking for 6-7 hours - nowhere near cooked after 2 hours. it reduced beautifully, very dark and sweet. The only downside: i found it did not coat the pasta really well. will make again though :)

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