Pasta Alla Genovese Recipe (2024)

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.

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. ♡

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.

Beautifully simplistic as only Italian dishes can be, bravo. I've cooked it twice and the second time I skipped boiling the onions; as others have mentioned, it's a scalding, slippery mess to chop them afterward. One point I would mention is that, in my experience, the dish needs water be added occasionally throughout the cooking process (in particular at the beginning) to avoid burning.

A good friend of mine, a young chef here in Naples, when he decides to prepares Genovese for his customers he cooks it for 16 hours, at a very very very slow flame, he never lifts the lid and never lives the kitchen while the onions and the meat literally disintegrate, into a soft, dark brownish cream. The type of pasta he uses is "paccheri from Gragnano", obviously cooked very al dente. The result is pure magic. Tartufi che passione is the restaurant! The result is pure magic!

Cooking for two so I halved the recipe, sweated the thinly sliced onions on the stove while prepping the carrot, celery and chuck, then put it in the crockpot with the onions on top. Set it on low and left for the day. 6 hours later stirred it well, added the wine and let it go for another hour. Almost as good as when prepared as written! Next time I'll add a little wine at the beginning so it's a little creamier.

This tastes so, so delicious. I found slicing the onions after they had cooked very difficult because they are slippery and lose their shape. Next time I will slice and then boil before adding to the meat. But the taste was fantastic.

I didn't bother with boiling the onions. When Bittman says not to bother, I don't bother. This sauce is so interesting and freezes very, very well. It acquires a sweetness from the carrots and the wine that is very pleasing. A keeper.

I adapted for the InstantPot; it was fantastic. Didn’t save time, but made it an auto-pilot recipe. My changes:• Boiled onions in mostly wine, topped off w/ water• Reserved 1 cup of the stock• Did all the sautéing in the IP• Threw onions in before the beef for a few min. Moved the onion mass aside to get beef on the bottom, then covered it back up• Added the 1 cup of wine/onion stock, then set IP to 90 min high pressure, then NPR (~45 min).• Simmered down further. No more wine necessary.

Like many others I skipped boiling the onions & just added raw to pot. I also used hot pancetta & added red pepper flakes to counterbalance all the sweetness. Got rave reviews.

Made this last night. Did not boil the onions. Per another version, used white onions. Ratio 1:2 beef to onions. Also tossed a handful of halved cherry tomatoes on top of onions per other version. And a bay leaf and wine for the long cooking. Let cook 4+ hours in 225-250º oven. Added more wine. Gave it a stir. Cooked until we were ready for it, another hour or two. Could have cooked longer and been fine. Just keep an eye on liquid level.

Exceptional! I cooked this tonight - halved the recipe and it was amazing. I read the other reviews and added a bit of red pepper flakes, a splash of balsamic at the end, and cooked it for about a half hour longer. I did boil the onions and it was tough to slice them, I'll do it differently next time. I'd say with cooking the longer the better, give another hour, let this flavor develop, and expect rave reviews.

I'm with everyone else on slicing boiled onions. It's way more trouble than it's worth. Just cook it longer. Otherwise,a great recipe.

A wonderful sauce, next time I will follow Mr. Bittman's direction and use raw sliced onions and increase the cooking time. Finish with a pinch of red pepper flakes to compliment this luscious, sweet sauce.

- Render the fat from pancetta first. Remove it before you brown the beef.- You can use chuck or bottom round.

I made this dish tonight - do not let the photo mislead you, this is very much a traditional goulash. Was expecting something brighter and fresher. Still very good though!

I’ve made 2x. TOOK 5-6 hours both times. Delicious, but 3.5 hour is delusional.

In step 2, there is no mention of how much liquid to add. Is it supposed to cook for two and a half hours in just the olive oil?

This turned out sweet and one dimensional to me. It was very hands off and easy to make, but I just need more depth of flavor besides sweet onion.

Skip the onion boiling- mine turned out just fine. I pray you have a mandoline bc that is the only way I managed to slice all those onions.

Super, super delicious. No need to boil the onions. Simply slice and advance to step 2.

I like it. Took a long time. It was just Guillaume and I. Didn’t get very much enthusiasm. Would make for a different grp. But Lea e lots of time. Also, maybe slice the onions in the food processor

Well cooking this started off bad and just got worse. I reread the recipe a million times cause it seemed too simple. It is impossible to thinly slice onions that have been boiled - so slimy I can’t believe I didn’t lose a finger. Then I tried simmering it for 2 hours and about halfway through I smelled burning so I checked on it. Completely ruined and I have no idea how I’m going to get this pot clean again.

We liked but didn’t love this dish. It tasted like a good pot roast over noodles. Made it as instructed-no modifications, so I don’t think I screwed it up!

This was just ok for me. Just tasted like beef stew over pasta. Tasty but time consuming for what it is.

Trust the instructions! It does get creamy in the end!

My grandmother’s version didn’t include wine. She would use larger pieces of meat, any variety (beef roast, chicken pieces, ) remove the meat and then purée the vegetables into a wonderful sauce. In fact, this became my birthday dinner with my family for many years.

No need to boil the onions. Use a nice beef roast instead of chunks. Sear the meat, take it out and then sauté pancetta, onions, carrots, and celery until onions are translucent. Add meat back and wine and cook down. Then add tomatoes and basil, salt, pepper. Cook until meat falls apart and chop it up into the sauce. You can add more wine while it’s cooking.

Mine turned out like a burnt pot roast. Those onion directions are nuts. Followed the recipe to a tee. Wouldn’t recommend making as written.