Genovese Sauce
Forget everything you know about ragu—Genovese sauce is in a league of its own. This slow-cooked ragù from Naples bubbles away for hours, turning mountains of onions, soffritto, white wine, pork, and beef into a sauce so rich and tender it hugs every strand of the ziti pasta it is served with. It’s sweet, savory, creates fall-apart strands of meat and seriously next level.
Servings 1 pot
Equipment
- 1 large-sized bowl
- knife
- Chopping-board
- Mandoline or onion slicer
- Food processor
- wooden spoon
- Dutch oven or large-sized pot
- Large pot for pasta
- Medium sized pan
Ingredients
- 1/4 brown onion quarter
- 1 small carrot
- 1 stick of celery
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 mug of water
- 600 g / 21.2 oz chuck steak
- 300 g / 10.6 oz pork rashers
- 1.3 kg / 45.8 oz brown onions
- 1 glass white wine about 150ml
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil EVOO
- Salt & pepper
- 300 g / 10.6 oz ziti pasta or as much as you like
- Pecorino Romano to taste
Instructions
- Cut the brown onions in half and use a mandoline or onion slicer to slice them into thin pieces. Soak the slices in a bowl of water to help reduce the sharpness and minimize tears.
- Separately, roughly chop ¼ of a brown onion, the carrot, and celery into small pieces. Add them to a food processor with a generous amount of EVOO and a splash of water. Blend into a smooth mixture.
- Cut the large pieces of beef chuck and pork rashers into small, even-sized chunks, then set them aside.
- Place your Dutch oven over medium heat, then add about 3 tablespoons of EVOO and pour in the blended soffritto mix. Cook for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally using a wooden spoon.
- Add the chopped meat to the pan and stir to combine with the soffritto. Increase to medium-high heat and brown the meat. Cover with a lid and let it cook in its own steam for 2 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper (not too much), stir, and toss in the 4 bay leaves. Put the lid back on and let it simmer for another 2 minutes.
- Pour in the white wine to deglaze the pan and let it cook uncovered for about 5 minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate.
- Add in the sliced onions. Gently mix to combine and bring some of the meat to the surface. Season again with salt and pepper to taste. Cover with a lid and cook on low heat for 4 hours, stirring every 30 mins.
- After 4 hours, remove the lid and continue to cook the sauce uncovered for another 2 hrs on low heat to let the liquid reduce and concentrate the flavor.
- Once the sauce is thick and jammy, gently squash the meat using a spoon or spatula to pull it apart. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt, then cook the ziti according to the package instructions. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before you drain the pasta.
- In a medium-sized pan, add as much Genovese ragù as you like. Once the pasta is al dente, transfer it to the pan and stir well to coat. If needed, add a splash of reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce and create an even creamier texture then toss to emulsify.