Pasta alla Genovese
Naples slow-cooked onion and beef ragu on rigatoni.
Ingredients
- 800 g Beef chuck
- 6 Onion
- 1 Carrot
- 1 Celery
- 500 g Rigatoni
- 60 g Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 4 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- 150 ml White wine (optional)
Method
- Thinly slice the onions; chop the carrot and celery.
- Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high and brown the beef on all sides, then bury it under the mountain of onions.
- Add the wine and salt, cover, and braise very low until the onions melt into a sweet, jammy ragu.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- When the ragu is nearly done, cook the rigatoni one minute shy of al dente.
- Reserve a mugful of pasta water, then drain the rigatoni.
- Toss the drained pasta with the onion ragu and the parmesan until coated.
- Lift the beef out of the pot — it will be fall-apart tender — and slice it thickly.
- Serve with the sliced beef alongside.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About Pasta alla Genovese
Pasta alla Genovese is one of Naples' great slow-cooked ragùs, and despite the name it has nothing to do with Genoa or basil pesto; the origin of the name is debated and lost to time. What defines it is an astonishing quantity of onions, sliced thin and cooked down for hours with a piece of beef chuck until they collapse into a sweet, jammy, deeply savory sauce. The beef braises buried beneath that mountain of onions, giving up its richness to the pot while the onions caramelize into something almost sauce-like on their own. Rigatoni is the classic partner, its ridges and tube shape catching the thick ragù.
The flavor is remarkable for a dish with so few ingredients: profoundly sweet from the melted onions, savory and rounded from the beef, with white wine adding a faint acidity to keep it from cloying. It is a project rather than a weeknight plate, asking for around three hours of gentle attention, but almost all of that is hands-off braising. Traditionally the sauce dresses the pasta as a first course and the tender beef is served sliced afterward as the meat course, a two-in-one Sunday meal. Finish the pasta with plenty of Parmigiano, and expect the kitchen to smell of sweet onions for the rest of the day.
Pasta alla Genovese: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Pasta alla Genovese?
A serving has about 809 calories — 40.3g protein, 74.7g carbs, 36.8g fat, 4.8g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 40.3g of protein, roughly 20% of its calories.
Is Pasta alla Genovese gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains Rigatoni. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for that ingredient to make it gluten-free.
Is Pasta alla Genovese dairy-free?
Not as written — it uses Parmigiano-Reggiano. Swapping it for a plant-based alternative makes it dairy-free.
How long does Pasta alla Genovese take to make?
About 172 minutes start to finish, but only around 31 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make Pasta alla Genovese?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out white wine — it's optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Pasta alla Genovese make?
This recipe makes 6 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.