If you are born and live in Naples, Italy, it is the center of the universe. You have your own language, your own coffee, and a love for one and only one soccer (football) team and one and only one soccer legend. You also have a complete disregard for any organized or unenforced traffic rules (especially if you are riding a motorbike where a helmet is not required or even wanted). You need to get stuff done and places to go; everything and everyone in your way is going to know it. I think this is all best summarized by something our airport driver said:
People are born in Naples and they die in Naples
SABRINA
My sister Michele beautifully captured the passion, vibe, and street life of our trip to Naples in her Substack post, so I’ll focus instead on the food we experienced. We came home with a long list of dishes we want to try making ourselves, many of them quite different from what we had expected.
Of course, there was pizza — delicious and much lighter than the American kind — the kind where you can eat an entire one for lunch and not feel stuffed. Linguine alle vongole (pasta with clams) was everywhere, made with the freshest clams imaginable. Eggplant parmesan is often served as an appetizer and, like everything else, far lighter than the American version.
Interestingly, the pasta of legend — Puttanesca — we only found once but with no anchovies. We asked five different people about it and got five different answers, ranging from confirming the popular American tale to claims that it was from Rome or Capri. We saw Ragù Napoletano on a menu only once, and it was nothing like our mom’s — or any other mother’s — classic Sunday sauce, ragù, or gravy. I even went back and watched an old Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations episode from 2011, set in Naples. He came to the same conclusion: Sunday ragù is something you’ll only find at your mother’s house — and it’s pretty much the way our mom made it.
To leave you with a teaser of what’s coming on this blog — the street foods of Naples are a cuisine all their own. Throughout the city, high-quality, handmade street foods are everywhere, perfect for a quick stop and a bite.
One of the Neapolitan dishes that was a surprise was Pasta alla Genovese. I’ve heard about it and there are many stories about how this dish got its name—especially since Naples and Genoa are not near each other—but what intrigued me even more was the fact that it never really made its way to America like Neapolitan classics. It’s simple to make and in the tradition of foods that stretch a little meat to go a long way. Of the three restaurants where we tried it, only one included any beef at all and all were made with long penne noodles broken into pieces (yes! broken pasta!!). These just relied on the taste of the beef imparted into the onions along with cheese.
What I love most about this dish is how quick it is to prepare and how the magic happens as it cooks, low and slow for hours. The sauce can easily be made days ahead and even improves with time. Just warm it gently and loosen it up with a little extra pasta water.
We hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do…and stay tuned for more of our favorite recipes from this amazing city.
Buon appetito!
Joe
Pasta all Genovese
- Yield: Sauce to go with 1 lb dry pasta
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless beef chuck, either in one big tied piece or smaller chunks
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced small
- 2 stalks celery, diced small
- 4 lbs yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 small bunch parsley, stems removed
- 1 lb dry pasta, penne or other tube pasta
- Parmigiano cheese
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
Prepare the sauce:
- Lay out the beef in its wrapper from the store or on a sheet pan. Salt all over and let stand for 30-minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 300℉ (see Note #1 below).
- In a large dutch oven (cast iron pot) large enough to hold the onions at a depth of 3-or-4 inches, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the diced carrots and celery. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, stir and cover for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally until they begin to just soften.
- Add the onions and mix into the hot oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, stir for about 10 minutes until they begin to soften.
- Mix in the bay leaf and parsley and lay the beef on top of the onions. Cover and place in the hot oven.
- Cook for about 3-hours checking occasionally (once an hour). Add a little water if needed.
- At the end, either break up some or all of the meat into the sauce (I used it all) or reserve some of the meat for a second course.
Prepare the pasta:
- Set up a large frying pan large enough to hold the cooked pasta. Add about ¾ of the sauce including any accumulated juices and heat over low heat.
- Cook the pasta in well salted water per the package directions for al dente. Check to make sure it’s done to your liking (the pasta will cook more in the sauce). Reserve 1 cup of pasta water and drain.
- Add the pasta to the sauce and stir to incorporate. Add some of the pasta water as needed as the pasta continues to cook and absorb the sauce (about 2-3 minutes). Add a small handful of Parmigiano cheese and stir.
- Serve with more cheese on the side.
Notes
Note #1: I prefer to use the oven for this type of recipe because it’s mostly set-it and forget-it. Alternatively, you can cook this on the stove over low heat for the same amount but you will need to check it more often in case the it cooks unevenly or starts to burn.