Ragu Alla Napoletana Recipes

NEAPOLITAN MEAT SAUCE - RAGU NAPOLETANO ALLA ANNA GALASSO

Steps:

• Dry the round steak with paper towels, and rub it on both sides with salt and pepper.
• Sprinkle the meat with the parsley and cheese.
• Roll the meat up like a jellyroll, and tie it in several places with kitchen string.
• Salt and pepper the spare ribs. Set the meats aside.
• Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large heavy duty pot. Over medium heat, brown the round steak and spare ribs in the oil on all sides. This will take about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the onion, celery and carrot and continue cooking until the vegetables begin to soften. Stir in the garlic and basil. Cook 1 minute.
• Combine the tomatoes and wine in a bowl. Slowly pour the mixture over the meat.
• Stir in the tablespoon of salt, a grinding of pepper, and the sugar.
• Cover the pot, bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer, and cook the sauce until the meat is fork tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove the meat to a dish. Cover the dish, and refrigerate the meat to make it easier to cut when cold.
• When ready to use, transfer the round steak to a cutting board, and cut the strings from the round steak with a kitchen scissors.
• Cut into neat slices about 1/4-1/2" thick.
• Add to the sauce. Cut the meat off the bones of the spareribs and add the pieces to the sauce.
• Use the sauce for pasta dishes both boiled and baked.

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.

RAGU ALLA NAPOLETANA

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine pine nuts, raisins and garlic. Lay meat slices on a work surface, and season them lightly on both sides with salt and pepper. Sprinkle pine-nut and raisin mixture on one side of the slices. Roll slices up and secure them with a toothpick or tie them with kitchen string. Place them in a large, deep saute pan and add oil, onion and 4 cups of water. Place over medium heat and simmer, uncovered, until water has evaporated, about 1 1/4 hours.
• Continue cooking, turning meat rolls with tongs, until meat is lightly browned on all sides. Add wine to pan and cook until evaporated. Drain tomatoes, reserving juice, and coarsely chop tomatoes. Add tomatoes and reserved juice to pan, and bring to a simmer. Cook until sauce is very thick, about 2 hours.
• Remove meat from pan with tongs, remove toothpicks or cut string, and place meat on a serving platter. Season sauce with salt and pepper, and pour it over ziti or penne. Serve with meat and grated Parmesan cheese on the side.

RAGU NAPOLETANO (NEAPOLITAN MEAT SAUCE)

Steps:

• In a large pasta pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil until smoking.
• Season the veal and beef with salt and pepper to taste and sear 5 or 6 pieces at a time over medium heat, until dark golden brown.
• Remove to a plate and repeat with remaining meat chunks (if using ground chuck, be sure to drain any excess grease from pan).
• Add the onion to the pan and sauté, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any brown bits.
• Cook until the onions are golden brown and very soft, about 10 minutes.
• Add the wine, browned meat chunks, tomatoes, sausages, and pepper flakes and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook 2 ½-3 hours, stirring occasionally and skimming off the fat as necessary.
• Remove from the heat and remove meat and sausages from sauce.
• Cover well and save for another meal.
• Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and allow to cool.

FETTUCCINE WITH NEAPOLITAN MEAT SAUCE (FETTUCCINE CON RAGU ALLA NAPOLETANA)

Steps:

• 1. In a heavy 5-quart pot over moderately high heat, heat the oil until hot but not smoking. Season the beef with salt and sear it, turning occasionally, until deep brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Add the chile, garlic, and onion, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to tenderize, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, wine, and tomatoes, and bring to a boil.
• 2. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the meat is very tender, 3 to 4 hours. The finished sauce should be a deep, rich red color. (The sauce is ready to combine with the fettuccine now, or you can cool and store it in the refrigerator up to 4 days.)
• 3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the fettuccine and stir to submerge and separate it. Cook according to the package directions until al dente.
• 4. Drain the fettuccine, shaking well to remove any excess water, and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the sauce and toss together until the pasta is evenly coated. Serve at once with the braised meat as desired.