Ziti alla genovese

Ingredients

• 400 g ziti di Gragnano dei Campi
• 800 g lean beef
• 30 g lard
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 70 g prosciutto crudo (raw seasoned ham), including its fat
• 600 g onions
• 1 carrot
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup white wine
• Basil
• Parsley
• Marjoram
• Grated parmesan.
• Salt and pepper.

Instructions

For the Genoese sauce, peel the onions and carrots and wash the celery, basil, and parsley. Finely chop the vegetables and herbs (including just a pinch of marjoram) and the ham.
Tie the beef up with kitchen string. Heat the oil and lard together in a large, sturdy casserole. Add the chopped vegetables, herbs, ham, and then the beef. Add the tomato paste and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let everything cook together at low heat, stirring occasionally.
After about an hour and a half, cook everything uncovered over high heat in order to brown the beef and the vegetables, paying attention not to burn them. Add the wine a little bit at a time, letting it evaporate after each addition. Reduce the flame again, cover, and let cook for an additional hour.

Break the ziti into pieces, boil them in a generous amount of salted water, and drain them when cooked al dente. Mix the pasta with the sauce from the casserole and some parmesan cheese.

Slice the beef and serve it with some of its sauce for a tasty second course.

Note

Unlike its name, this recipe is not a typical recipe from Genoa, the city of light - it is actually a classic Neapolitan recipe. In 1837 in his book “Practical-Theoretical Cooking”, the cavalier Ippolito Cavalcanti writes that this recipe was prepared for the first time in a tavern in Naples in the 1600s by a Genoese cook. Others say that this recipe was made for the first time two centuries earlier, again with Genoese cooks, who prepared this dish at a tavern near the Naples port, in a small city known as Loggia di Genova.

Difficulty Level: medium Appreciation: Time for preparation: 30 minutes Cooking time: 180 minutes Share: 4 persons