Rigatoni alla Genovese

I have no idea why the amazingly flavorful “salsa genovese” (Genoa-style pasta sauce) with meat isn’t way more popular than it is. It’s quite simply one of the best pasta sauces you’ll ever taste, thanks to a very slow cooking process and massive amounts of onions.

Preparation Details

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 9 hrs 25 mins

Total Time: 9 hrs 55 mins

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 ounces pancetta or salt pork, diced
• 2 ½ pounds beef chuck
• 3 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• ½ cup diced celery
• ½ cup diced carrots
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ⅔ cup white wine
• 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 pounds yellow onions, sliced
• 2 pounds red onions, sliced
• 2 (16 ounce) boxes uncooked rigatoni
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram leaves
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Steps

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add pancetta and cook until most of the fat is rendered, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon.
2. Add beef chuck and 2 teaspoons salt to the pot. Increase the heat to high; cook and stir until browned and any liquid released begins to evaporate, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Reduce the heat to medium-high. Add cooked pancetta, celery, carrots, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper; cook and stir for 5 minutes. Add white wine, tomato paste, and bay leaf; cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping up the drippings from the bottom of the pan.
4. Add yellow and red onions. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 30 minutes without stirring. After 30 minutes, stir onions and meat until well mixed. Cover again and cook for 30 more minutes.
5. Stir, then reduce the heat to low. Keep uncovered and cook, occasionally stirring and skimming off any fat, until beef and onions seem to melt into each other, 8 to 10 hours. If the sauce is reducing too much, add water or broth as needed to maintain a sauce-like consistency.
6. When the sauce is almost finished, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook rigatoni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until just barely al dente, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain.
7. Add rigatoni to the sauce and cook until heated through. Garnish with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, marjoram, and cayenne.