At Il Principe, Neapolitan cuisine is honoured, reinterpreted, and brought into the present with creativity and precision. Chef Gian Marco Carli crafts dishes that showcase the finest ingredients from Vesuvius, the Nocerino Sarnese countryside, and the Mediterranean, balancing bold tradition with a fresh, contemporary vision. Though its name suggests otherwise, this iconic sauce is unmistakably Neapolitan: Pasta alla Genovese. Here, a recipe from Chef Gian Marco Carli of Principe restaurant in Pompeii. Genovese is one of the great sauces of Neapolitan cuisine and, despite its name, a firmly Neapolitan dish. Like ragù, it brings families together on Sundays and special occasions, but it demands time, patience, and care. Chef Gian Marco Carli of the Principe restaurant in Pompeii shares a few tips: “For us, it’s a dish that defines our identity, perhaps even more than tomato ragù, and it’s also one of the best-known dishes at my restaurant: cappellacci alla genovese.”
Pasta alla Genovese
Ingredients for 8 people:
100 g chopped celery; 100 g chopped carrots;
3 kg finely chopped coppery onions; 2 Annurca apples; 1 kg adult beef rib eye cover; 1 bay leaf;
Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Salt to taste; Pepper to taste.
Grazie a Il Gusto and YouTube for the recipe!
Preparation:
The soffritto: In a high-sided saucepan, sauté the celery, carrots, and Annurca apple in plenty of oil. Separately, sear the rib-eye steak in a nonstick pan. Once seared, add it to the soffritto, seasoning with salt and pepper. "First, prepare the soffritto, then the celery and carrot, which must be thoroughly dried. Then add the apple, allowing it to dry thoroughly as well. Then, slowly add the meat, which must first be cut into fairly large cubes, about 4x4 centimeters, and seared over a high flame to seal it." Now add the onions in three batches, making sure to season with salt and pepper and stir after each addition. Once the onions are finished, cook over very low heat for at least 5-6 hours. Add salt if necessary. "The onions are added in three batches to avoid a "boiled" effect. The onions, in proportion, are three times the size of meat. Each time you add them, add a little salt: this helps the onions wilt and release some of their cooking juices. Between each batch, wait 6 or 7 minutes, no more. As soon as the onions begin to relax, add more." The Genovese should cook in its own juices; it should not be soaked. The pot should be covered almost hermetically with a lid. Stir occasionally and check. The moisture from the onion, the beef, and the steam inside the pot will create the right amount of moisture. In the last 10 or 15 minutes, open the lid and raise the heat, allowing some of the liquid to evaporate.
The secret ingredient: Apple. Chef Gian Marco Carli adds: "According to tradition, Genoese sauce was brought by a chef to the Bourbon court. In ancient times, beef was not used, but game, which had a very intense flavor. For this reason, an onion sauce was prepared: it served to temper the strong flavor of wild meat. The apple also had a specific function. It made the sauce more digestible, thanks to the lowering of the pH during cooking, and it also contributed to the flavor, with sweet and balsamic notes in the finish. Furthermore, the pectin helped preserve the sauce for a few days. In our kitchen, the apple is the Annurca, but you can also substitute a classic Red apple or a sweet Fuji."
The Chef has also created an alternative version of Genovese: Genoese-style cappellacci. "I have a dish on the menu that I can't take away from our menu, our signature dish: Genoese-style cappellacci made with egg pasta. In this case, the Genoese sauce is not on top, but inside, as a filling. The cappellacci is creamed with black pepper-flavored water, Bagnoli Irpino pecorino fondue, a beef and onion reduction, and ground coffee, which creates a sweet-and-sour contrast. The vegetables used for the soffritto are dehydrated and added on top of the cappellacci."
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