Zita with Sugo Genovese
La GENOVESE
Genovese Sauce is a slow-cooked onion and meat sauce associated with Italy's Campania region, especially Naples — typically served with Paccheri, Rigatoni, Ziti or candele pasta — and sprinkled with grated cheese.
Genovese may be prepared with inexpensive cuts of beef, pork, veal or sausage, but typically share and emphasize slow-cooked onions. A Genovese sauce is always tomato-less.
Recipes may cite the ramata di Montoro, a yellow onion with copper-colored skin.
Likely introduced to Naples from the northern Italian city of Genoa during the Renaissance, Genovese has since become associated with Italy's South, and especially Campania.
SUGO al GENOVESE Recipe by Chef Gennaro Russo of the World Renowned Le Sirenuse Hotel, Positano, Italy on the Amalfi Coast.
Recipe :
2 pound Beef Chuck Shoulder Roast, seasoned with Salt & Black Pepper
4 pounds Spanish Onions, cut in half, then sliced thin
2 Clelery Stalks, washed and diced very fine
2 Carrots, peeled and finely diced
2 cups Chicken or Beef Broth
2 cups Water
Olive Oil, Salt, Black Pepper
2 Bay Leaves
1 pound Imported Italian Rigatoni or other shirt maccheroni past
Parmigiana Reggiano, grated
Butter
Coat the bottom of a 6 quart heavy bottomed pot. Turn heat to high. Add the Beef Chuck Roast. Turn heat to high.
Brown all sides of the Beef, turn to get the whole roast nicely browned.
Remove the Beef from pot and set aside.
Add the Carrots, Celery, and Onions to the pot. Season with 1 teaspoon each of Salt & Black Pepper. Cook over low heat for 2o minutes. Stir occasionaly with a wooden spoon.
Add the Beef back to the pot with the Broth and Water. Add Bay Leaves. Cook over very low heat for about 3 hours, stirring occasionaly with a wooden spoon to keep sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pot and to prevent burning. (Note: If your sauce burns, it's ruined).
Turn heat off, and let the sauce (Sugo) cool. When cool, break up the meat with your hands or wooden spoons.
Taste for seasoning, to see if you need to add a little more Salt & Pepper or not.
Cook the Maccheroni Pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, according to the directions on the package.
When the pasta is done cooking, drain in a colander, reserving some of the pasta cooking water. Add the drain pasta back to the pot it cooked in. Add 2 cups of the Ragu Genovese, a small knob of butter and 1 tablespoon or so of olive oil and mix.
Plate the pasta into pasta bowls or on plates. Top each plate of pasta with a little more sauce on top.
Serve with grated Parmigiana Cheese on the side, and enjoy.
PASTA with RAGU GENOVESE
by Chef Gennaro Russo
Hotel Le Sirenuse
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