Paccheri Alla Genovese Napoletana with Crispy Mushrooms

Serves 6-8

May 26, 2024

Just to be clear, I know ragu shouldn’t contain garlic, and no one in Napoli would decorate this dish with roasted mushrooms, but I am the one eating it and you’re not, but I guess you could be?

With that out the way, I have to emphasise just how good this dish is. I have made it a few times and every time I worry that the onions will be overpowering, and I question what the old Italian lady that invented this was thinking. She probably just had a lot of onions to use up, and I respect that. I digress… this is genuinely one of my favourite pasta dishes, and it’s the better of the two Pasta Alla Genovese. (Also, side note, even the pesto version doesn’t originate in Genoa… Lets just assume that the old lady bought her onions there.)

Note: This recipe feeds 6-8 less than average people, I shared it with 4… take from that what you want.

Time: 7 hours

Ingredients

400g of Pasta (I used Peccheri, it very nice, you should use something nice too, rigatoni or pappardelle would bang)
800g beef chuck/shoulder
100g Smoked pancetta (get the good shit)
1kg white onions (seems like a lot, and it is)
2 shallots
4 large garlic cloves
2 medium carrots (all relative)
2 large sticks of celery (again very subjective)
400g cherry tomatoes (the colourful ones are fancy - get those)
1/2 tube tomato paste
100g Parmigiano Reggiano (I used way fucking more that 100g)
Parmigiano Reggiano rind (optional but it’s worth it because it makes you look smart)
1.5 cups dry white wine
500ml beef stock (pls use that good good)
2 bay leaves
6 normal mushrooms (what even is normal?)
Enough salt and pepper (people hate when you say “salt to taste”. If this is you it’s time to grow tf up)
Some parsley if you want to add some green shit

Method

There’s no beating around the bush here, this is gonna take a really long time. It’s the type of dish you make on a Sunday afternoon in the hopes that you will be able to impress someone by 8pm… it goes without saying that theres no getting this time back if you fuck it up. As long as you’re okay with that, let's get started:

The Ragu

It’s all about layering:

Cut the beef into large chunks. (big enough that they won't immediately disintegrate into the sauce).
Dice the pancetta into pea sized chunks.
Finely chop the garlic and shallots.
Dice the carrot and celery. (this does not need to be neat… use a food processor if you want)
Slice the onions very thinly. (You could use a mandoline if you want, but they are scary)

Note: You’re crying now aren’t you?
Heat up a large cast iron pot and add olive oil. Set the hob to medium high and use a decent amount of oil.
Add the beef to the pot and brown all sides of the meat.

Note: You might need to do this in batches to avoid boiling the beef).
Remove the beef from the pot once browned.
Lower the heat to medium and add the pancetta to the pot and render out the fat.
Add the shallots and garlic to the pot and cook for a few minutes.
Add the carrots, celery and a handful of the sliced onions.

Note: Add some salt and pepper to release more moisture.
Cook for 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon.
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for a minute.
Turn the oven on to 170 degrees celsius and make sure there is enough space for the pot
Add the white wine and cook until reduced back down.

Note: Use the white wine to deglaze any other brown bits stuck to the bottom - that’s the good shit.
Add all of those onions and cook down.

Note: this will take a while, if your pot isn’t big enough you can add the onions in stages to cook them slowly.
Add the beef back into the pot.
Add the beef stock into the pot.
Add the bay leaves and parmesan rind.
Put that shit in the oven with the lid on. (leave it in there for at least 2 hours before you bother looking at it)

Note: You can remove it as many times as you want to admire your work but it will take fucking ages to cook so stop being childish.
Remove the stems from the mushrooms and thinly slice.

Note: You aren’t gonna do much with these until the last 30 minutes, but it’s good to be prepared.
Add the mushrooms to a baking tray, drown in olive oil and season with flakey salt, pepper.
Remove the pot from the oven after 4 hours and assess the situation.

Note: It might need more time, it might not, but for the sake of this recipe you should remove the lid and chuck it back into the oven for another 30 minutes. The mushrooms will be in there anyway.

Note: You want it to look like a thick stew, much thicker that you would expect a pasta sauce to be.
Put the mushrooms in the oven. (30 mins)
Once thick stew status has been achieved, remove the pot from the oven.
Remove the bay leaves and rind from the pot.
If the mushrooms look crispy, remove from the oven, if not then another 5/10 mins won’t hurt. (If they burn, don't blame me).

The Pasta

We’re going to finish this off in a pan two portions at a time so the pan isn’t overflowing. It's gonna come together quickly, lets go:

Boil a large pot of water.
Add lots of salt to the water.

Note: (People say it should be as salty as the sea, which implies tasting the salty boiling water. Please don’t do this.)
Add the pasta to the boiling water and get that shit moving.

Note: seriously though, move it around with a fork, if you do this it won’t stick.
Heat up a medium pan on low heat and add a ladle of the ragu.
Use that ladle again to steal some of that salty pasta water and add it to the ragu.

Note: loosen the sauce with as much water as required.
Try a bit of the pasta and see if it is cooked to your preference.
Add enough pasta for two people to the pan and stir.
Add a handful of parmesan and stir into the sauce.
Add the pasta to a plate.

Result

You just made a tasty ragu and you should be proud of yourself. But not too proud. It wasn’t that hard was it?

Perrie Cooks

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