Pasta alla Genovese - after tasting this pasta in Naples, Italy, it became one of my favorites. Despite its name, this pasta has nothing to do with the city of Genoa - it is actually one of the traditional home-cooked meals of Naples. The main secret is simple: minimum ingredients, but onions cooked patiently for hours. Not the meat, but the onion is the heart of this dish - it is cooked for so long that it completely melts and turns into a thick, sweet, and rich sauce.
Ingredients
Method
- 1.Peel and slice the onions as thinly as possible - this is the longest step, but their volume will decrease several times as they cook. The meat is not chopped, it is cooked in whole pieces.
- 2.Pour olive oil into a heavy-bottomed pot, add the onions, bay leaves, salt, and pepper, and place the salted and peppered meat on top. Be careful with the salt: the volume of the onions will decrease, so you can adjust it to taste at the end.
- 3.Cover with a lid and cook on the lowest heat for 4-5 hours, stirring every 20-30 minutes. Since the onions release their own juices, no water is needed; if it gets too dry, add a tablespoon or two of hot water. The finished sauce should be dark golden-brown and thick like jam.
- 4.Remove the bay leaves, shred the meat into fibers with a fork, and return it to the sauce. Adjust salt and pepper.
- 5.Cook the pasta in salted water for 1-2 minutes less than the package instructions. Reserve a cup of pasta water before draining. Add the pasta to the sauce and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes, adding a little pasta water if necessary.
- 6.Turn off the heat, sprinkle with finely grated Parmesan, mix, and serve immediately.
Notes
- It is better if you prepare it a day in advance - the flavor deepens when reheated.