Neapolitan Genovese

La storia di questo piatto

In Campania, between the shadow of Vesuvius and the old kitchens of Naples, the onion becomes the whole soul of a dish: the copper-skinned onions of Montoro, sweet and generous, melt around a single piece of beef until nothing else is needed. Despite its name, the Genovese is Neapolitan to the bone, a Sunday table of patience and abundance.

Ingredienti

• 1500 g Montoro copper onions
• 600 g Beef (cappello del prete or topside) in one piece
• 400 g Ziti (broken by hand) or rigatoni
• 60 ml Extra virgin olive oil for the base
• 150 ml Dry white wine
• 60 g Carrot
• 50 g Celery
• 10 g Fine salt
• 30 g Coarse salt for the pasta water
• 2 g Freshly ground black pepper
• 60 g Parmigiano Reggiano
• 10 ml Extra virgin olive oil, raw, to finish

Preparazione

1. Peel the onions and slice them thinly with a sharp knife. Peel the carrot, clean the celery and finely chop both into a soffritto. Heat 60 ml of oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-low heat.
2. When the oil is hot, add the carrot, celery and about one third of the onions and let them wilt for 3-4 minutes, without browning or colouring. Lay the whole beef in the pan without searing it, and cover it with the remaining onions. Deglaze with the dry white wine and let the alcohol evaporate for one minute, then add the fine salt and pepper. No stock or tomato is needed: the liquid will come from the onions and the wine. Cover with the lid.
3. Cook with the lid on over very low heat for about 2 hours, stirring gently every 20-30 minutes and turning the beef. The onions will release their water and almost completely dissolve. Only if the bottom starts to catch, add a spoonful of lukewarm water.
4. Uncover and raise the heat to medium-low. Reduce the sauce for 30-40 minutes, stirring often, until you obtain an amber, thick and glossy cream: if the bottom is still very liquid, extend by a few minutes. The beef should be tender and yield to the pressure of a fork. In the last 15 minutes of reduction, bring about 4 litres of water to the boil for the pasta.
5. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper. Remove the beef and set it aside to keep warm: traditionally it is served separately as a second course, sliced against the grain or shredded. Keep the onion sauce hot in the pan.
6. Salt the boiling water with coarse salt and cook the pasta (ziti broken by hand into 3-4 cm pieces), draining it 1-2 minutes before the time indicated on the package so that it stays al dente. Reserve a ladle of cooking water.
7. Add the pasta to the pan with only the onion sauce, without the beef, and toss gently over moderate heat, adding a little cooking water if needed, until the pasta is glossy and creamy with the sauce well clinging to it.
8. Plate on warm dishes, finish with grated Parmigiano and a drizzle of raw extra virgin olive oil. Serve the beef separately on the side as a second course.