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Meat, Italy

Neapolitan genovese pasta

Neapolitan genovese is a pasta dish with a sauce of melted onions and shredded beef, made without tomato. It serves 4, takes 3 hours 10 minutes total, rates as medium difficulty and costs about €3.00 per person. The key is letting the onions cook very slowly until they break down into a sauce.

A weekend dish, Naples' genovese, an onion sauce melted for hours with shredded beef, served over pasta.

Neapolitan genovese pasta
Total time
3 h 10
Difficulty
Medium
Cost per person
€3.00
Calories per person
760 kcalcalculated by Kiloach, your weight coach
Season
Fall, Winter
The kids
They generally like it

Genovese owes nothing to tomato. Here, onions, used in nearly the same quantity as the meat, melt for two hours into a brown, thick, naturally sweet sauce. The beef cooks low and slow alongside them, falling apart with a fork and lending its juices to the whole pot.

This is a weekend dish, the kind you start midmorning for a family Sunday lunch. Kids tend to like this mild, low acid sauce, closer in taste to slow cooked meat than to a classic tomato sauce. Just set aside enough time, the long cooking does most of the work for you.

The ingredients

4 people

Butcher

  • Chuck or beef shin 800 g

Fruits and vegetables

  • Yellow onions 1.2 kg
  • Carrot 1
  • Celery stalk 1

Pantry

  • Dry white wineoften in the pantry 15 cl
  • Pasta (ziti or rigatoni)often in the pantry 400 g
  • Olive oiloften in the pantry 5 tbsp
  • Saltoften in the pantry 1 pinch
  • Pepperoften in the pantry 1 pinch

Dairy

  • Grated Parmesan 50 g

Allergens Gluten, Lactose, Celery

The step by step recipe

  1. Thinly slice the onions and cut the carrot and celery into small dice.

    That's a lot of onions, it's normal, they'll cook down a lot.

  2. In a Dutch oven, add the oil, the meat in large chunks, the vegetables and the onions, season with salt and pepper.

    No browning needed, everything starts from cold.

  3. Cover and cook over very low heat for two hours, stirring occasionally. 2 h

    The onions release their water and the sauce builds itself.

  4. Uncover, add the white wine and let it reduce, then shred the meat with a fork. 30 min

    The sauce should turn brown, thick and slightly sweet.

  5. Cook the pasta, toss it with the sauce along with a little pasta water, then sprinkle with Parmesan. 12 min

    Broken ziti pieces are the Neapolitan tradition.

Our tips to get it right

  • Slice the onions thin and evenly so they all melt at the same rate without catching on the bottom of the pot.
  • Keep the heat very low during the two hour simmer, the sauce should barely bubble, never boil hard.
  • Save a splash of pasta cooking water to loosen the sauce if it has reduced too much before tossing it with the pasta.

The variations

  • Swap the chuck for beef shank, it turns just as tender after the two hour simmer.
  • For a vegetarian version, replace the beef with quartered button mushrooms added at the same time as the onions.
  • For quicker meals with kids, cut the onion cooking time to one hour and blend part of the sauce until smooth.

What to serve it with

  • A green salad with sharp dressing
  • Bread for mopping up sauce
  • A glass of the same white wine

Storage

The sauce keeps for 3 days in the fridge in a sealed container, and it often tastes even better the next day. It freezes well for up to 2 months, reheat it gently in a pan with a little water added. Cook fresh pasta each time, it doesn't freeze well.

Questions about this dish

Why does this recipe use so many onions?

The onions replace tomato and form the entire base of the sauce as they melt down over two hours. You need nearly as much onion as meat to get a thick texture and enough sauce to coat the pasta.

Can you make the sauce ahead of time?

Yes, it's actually recommended, the sauce tastes even better after resting overnight in the fridge. Just reheat it gently and cook fresh pasta right before serving.

What meat works if I don't have chuck?

Beef shank or brisket work just as well, the key is choosing a cut meant for slow cooking that shreds easily. Avoid already tender cuts, they'd dry out after two hours of cooking.

Why use ziti or rigatoni instead of spaghetti?

These tube shaped pastas hold the thick sauce well inside them. Neapolitan tradition even calls for breaking the ziti into pieces before cooking so they mix better with the shredded meat sauce.

How long does it take to make a Neapolitan genovese pasta?

Count 3 h 10 in total, prep and cooking included. The recipe is rated “medium”.

How many calories are in a Neapolitan genovese pasta?

About 760 kcal per serving, for a recipe meant for 4 people. Calories are calculated by Kiloach, your weight coach, the app that partners with Mon Chou.

How much does a Neapolitan genovese pasta cost?

About €3.00 per serving, or €12.00 for 4 people, based on average supermarket prices.

What allergens does this recipe contain?

This recipe contains gluten, lactose, celery. Always check the labels of the products you buy.

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