Pasta with la Genovese ragu from Naples

Step 1

Begin by peeling the onions and slicing them thinly. Wash and cut the carrots and celery into small pieces

Step 2

Remove any fat from the meat and cut it into about 5-7 pieces

Step 3

Heat the olive oil in a deep pan. Fry the carrots, celery and onions together for a couple of minutes, stirring continuously.

Step 4

Add the meat, parsley, bay leaves and a teaspoon of salt. Mix together and cook for a couple of minutes until the meat starts to brown. (some people prefer to brown the meat first, I didn’t)

Step 5

Cover the pot, lower the heat and cook for about 3 hours. You will need to check it and stir every now and again, but the onions should create enough liquid for the meat to cook in. If it seems dry add some beef stock or water.

Step 6

After 3 hours, remove the bay leaves, add half the wine, salt and pepper to taste, stir and let simmer on a low heat uncovered for one hour. You may need to add more wine as the sauce reduces. Continue to stir often.

Step 7

Once the meat is very soft you can remove it from the sauce and save it to serve later, apart from a small quantity which should be shredded (cut into very small pieces) and returned to the sauce. Alternatively shred all the meat and return it to the sauce. (this is what I did)

Step 8

Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil. Bring to the boil again.

Step 9

If you are using long ziti or zitoni, break the pasta in half or 3 pieces before adding it to the water. Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet.

Step 10

When the pasta is cooked, save a cup of the cooking water and drain. If your sauce seems dry, add some of the pasta cooking water and stir. Add the pasta to the sauce and mix well or in the case of long pieces of pasta it may be easier to cover it with sauce once you have plated it.

Step 11

Serve immediately with chopped parsley and grated Parmigiano cheese.