Genovese Sauce Recipes

RIGATONI ALLA GENOVESE

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook pancetta until most of fat is rendered out, about 6 minutes. Remove cooked pancetta with a slotted spoon and save.
• Raise heat to high and transfer meat to the pot. Season with salt. Cook and stir until liquid releases from beef and begins to evaporate, and meat browns, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Reduce heat to medium-high. Add celery, carrots, reserved cooked pancetta, salt and pepper. Cook and stir about 5 minutes. Add a heaping tablespoon of tomato paste, bay leaf, and white wine. Cook and stir, scraping up the brownings from the bottom of the pan, 2 to 3 minutes. Add sliced onions. Reduce heat to medium. Cover pot and cook 30 minutes without stirring. After 30 minutes, stir onions and meat until well mixed. Cover again, and cook another 30 minutes. Stir.
• Reduce heat to low and cook uncovered 8 to 10 hours, stirring occasionally. Skim off fat as mixture cooks. If sauce seems to reduce too much, add water or broth as needed to maintain a sauce-like consistency. Cook until beef and onions seem to melt into each other.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook rigatoni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until just barely al dente, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain.
• Add rigatoni to the sauce and cook until heated through. Serve topped with a pinch of marjoram and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

GENOVESE SAUCE - LA GENOVESE NAPOLETANA

Steps:

• Prepare all the vegetables (see notes on cutting the onions) and sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper.
• Add the olive oil to a large pot on a medium-low heat and add the onions, carrot and celery. Saute the onions for 10 minutes then add the beef, bay and parsley.
• Let the beef brown on all sides, you'll need to stir the mixture around slightly so the beef touches the bottom of the pot.
• Cover the pot and let it slowly cook for 3 hours stirring every now and then to make sure it doesn't stick.
• After 3 hours remove the lid and add the white wine. Continue to simmer the ragu on a medium-low heat for another hour.
• Once done taste and add more salt to taste then toss with cooked and drained pasta of choice.

GENOVESE PESTO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a food processor, pound the garlic, basil, pinch salt, pine nuts and cheeses into a paste. Gradually blend in olive oil; adjust seasoning.

GENOVESE SAUCE RECIPE

Steps:

• Peel and chop the onions as finely as possible. Peel and thinly dice the carrot and the celery.
• Heat the olive oil in a large pot, add the whole piece of meat and brown it for a few minutes on each side to seal. Remove meat and add the onions. Brown for about 3 minutes - be careful not to burn them. Add the carrot, the celery and the marjoram, stir and cook a few minutes.
• Return the meat back to the pan and add the prosciutto. Season them with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Completely cover with water, lid, and cook over medium heat for at least 2 hours (add water if necessary). The onions will become creamy and the meat tender.
• Remove the meat: you can slice it and serve it as the second course of the meal.
• Cook pasta according to package directions and season it with the Genovese sauce. If you opted for ziti, break them in two or three before cooking them: they are far easier to eat.
• Serve the pasta hot and let each one add as much freshly grated parmesan as they like.

GENOVESE RED SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat the EVOO in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the pancetta and render until it begins to crisp, then add the ham and stir a minute or 2 more. Add the veal and break it up into fine crumbles, until lightly brown. Then add the garlic, bay leaf and onions, and season with salt and pepper and a little nutmeg. Let the onions cook, partially covered, for a few minutes, then stir in the tomato paste until fragrant. Add the wine and heat. Then add the milk, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently 3 hours. Add a little stock or water whenever the sauce gets too thick, up to 2 cups over the course of the cooking time. Cool and refrigerate or freeze for make-ahead meal.
• To serve, boil the pasta in salted water to al dente; reserve 1 cup starchy cooking water just before draining. Add to the sauce, toss with the pasta and some cheese and serve in shallow bowls.

PASTA ALLA GENOVESE

Steps:

• 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.
• 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 1/2 teaspoons salt and 3/4 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.
• 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.
• 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.

PESTO GENOVESE (AUTHENTIC ITALIAN BASIL PESTO)

Steps:

• Crush garlic using a mortar and pestle. Add pine nuts; crush with the garlic. Add basil leaves gradually, making circular movements with the pestle, until a smooth paste forms.
• Mix Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and pecorino Romano cheese using a wooden spoon. Stir in olive oil until pesto is blended.