Pasta Alla Genovese
Pasta alla Genovese. A pasta dish that has Italian Sunday written ALL over it. A Neopolitan dish that my great grandmother used to make, and we are so excited to recreate it. Homemade pappardelle in a beef and onion based sauce. The sauce has a little bit of wine and it’s filled with pancetta, carrot, and celery. Talk about old world Italian recipes, this is it. Top with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese and sprinkle with black pepper. Super hearty, feel-good, & rustic, very delicious, and definitely needs a good glass of red wine to pair with!!
Sunday is always a homemade pasta day. And when you’re Italian it’s essential to have a hearty, feel-good pasta. Pasta Alla Genovese is an Italian classic that is meant to be eaten on a Sunday.
Today is cold, it’s still January…sadly, and we need some comfort food. Enter our take on Pasta Alla Genovese. This cozy dish was not only perfect for today, but it really brings out our Italian heritage. My great grandmother was an Italian immigrant, so you can imagine she made the Italian classics pretty amazingly. While we might not have this dish down to her perfection, we were really excited about recreating it our own way.
It definitely came out delicious. Maybe not quite as good as my great grandmother’s recipe, but trial and error to make it as perfect as she did, am I right?!
Ingredients
4 pounds sweet onions
1/2 cup olive oil
2 carrots; peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk; chopped
1/4 pound pancetta; chopped
3 pounds beef chuck; cut into 3 inch chunks
salt and pepper
1 cup white wine
1 pound pasta
Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the onions and cook covered for 20 minutes. Drain and let cool. Slice thinly.
Heat half the oil in a large Dutch Oven. Add the carrots, celery, and pancetta. Sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the beef. Cover with the onions. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 3/4 teaspoon of pepper. Cover, bring to a simmer, and cook until beef is tender for about 3 hours. The onions will release a lot of liquid during this time.
Uncover the pot. Bring to a boil. Cook stirring frequently as the liquid reduces. Lower the heat to prevent scorching. Cook until the meat has fallen apart and the sauce is creamy for about 45 minutes. Stir in the wine and continue to cook. Stir frequently until the sauce is glossy and thick for about 20 minutes.
Cook the pasta. Drain and toss with the sauce. Top with parmesan and black pepper.
