Name: La Genovese (Neapolitan Pot Roast and Creamy Pasta Sauce)
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 7 tablespoons (3½ ounces) diced pancetta; ⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil; 3 pounds finest pot roast in one piece, such as point of the rump, or bottom round; 4 quarts water; 1½ tablespoons coarse salt; 2 to 3 carrots, chopped; ½ celery rib, finely chopped; 1 pound ziti or perciatelli, or substitute a fresh egg pasta such as fettuccine or tagliatelle; 8 large (about 4 pounds) white onions, finely sliced; ⅓ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley; 1 meat bouillon cube; 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil; 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh marjoram; ⅓ cup dry white or red wine; 2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or 1 tablespoon tomato concentrate or tomato paste

Preparation info

Serves
4 to 6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

In Nonna's Kitchen

By Carol Field

Published 1997

About

This dish is real home cooking, something that you would never find in a restaurant. It was once the sauce made by poor people in Naples for Sundays and holidays before it was supplanted by the now famous ragù. It uses the same principle as ragù—the vegetables cook for a long time with a piece of meat that benefits from long cooking. Of the three women who gave me their recipes for la Genovese, two purposefully omit tomatoes and carrots, even though their mothers and aunts always used them.