You don’t necessarily have to be from Naples to understand the profound meaning of a dish like this Genoese. Of course, for a Neapolitan, its smell will always be linked to endless Sundays with the family; but in reality that perfume remains impregnated even on those who are just passing through, even just once. Because in an era where speed and efficiency remain the imperatives, they are needed to make the Genovese hours and hoursmove on to peeling kilos of onions with tears in his eyes; tears that don’t stop even amidst the fumes of its long cooking times; tears that are enough for a breath. This is why in the Genoese area there is Naples and its intrinsic ability to always find solutions, in life as well as when faced with remains, waste or overabundance of food; that same genius that has always characterized so-called kitchens poor, which in reality have absolutely nothing poor about them and always reveal themselves to be the quintessence of creativity, as history shows us. Because it’s when you have nothing that you can do everything, mo, ambress ambressin an eternal present: “the future doesn’t belong to us, what if I don’t wake up tomorrow? So I’d better do the Genovese today”. This is the philosophy of Patrizia, known to everyone as an aunt, one of the many women who has been preparing it all her life, because her mother, Angela, and even before her grandmother, Fortuna, taught it to her, according to a tradition handed down with the simple know-how. Over the years you have prepared it throughout Italy for various occasions and everywhere it has always been a great success. But it remains a doubt: why is one of the most Neapolitan recipes there is called that?
Why is “la Genovese” called that since she is from Naples?
There are various hypotheses, from the Aragonese period in which it seems that the port of Naples was full of Genoese chefs, to a Neapolitan chef who cooked it and was nicknamed “or Genoese”, up to those who think that the name derives from Geneva in Switzerland and not from the Ligurian city…
But the reality is simpler: Genovese belongs to Mediterranean and dates back to that era when exchanges between ports were so common that sharing a dish was a habit. Even more so if it was a city like Naples that made him, incapable of not giving confidence, with its innate nature predisposed to meeting without preconceptions and contamination without hesitation.
Therefore, the origin or belonging of something that ultimately has its roots in the middle of the sea, imbued with an ancient and profound sense of sharing, matters little; the same one that today makes sure no one misses the table when she is finally ready.
How to prepare Genovese
For the preparation of Genovese, it is essential to choose the meat well, which must always be as tender as possible: Aunt Patrizia prefers the pig henamong the lesser known, but equally valid cuts, near the shin, in the lower part of the leg, where the muscle masses embrace the posterior aspect of the tibia.
Ingredients for 4/5 people
- 500 g large penne (or ziti and candles)
- 1 kg of pork gurnard (or tender beef rump)
- 2 kg of onions
- 2 carrots
- 1 celery
- 1 glass of white wine
- 5 cherry tomatoes
- basil – salt – parsley – Parmesan – extra virgin olive oil
Method
- Peel the onions and cut them into small pieces.
- Then clean the carrots and celery and cut them into small pieces too; Put the extra virgin olive oil in a pan and brown the previously cut meat.
- After about a quarter of an hour, remove the meat and in the same pan add a little more oil with onions, carrots and celery and cook with the lid closed for a few minutes.
- Then add a glass of white wine, then add the meat with five crushed cherry tomatoes; Season with salt, add a little more white wine and leave to cook over low heat for at least an hour, although the time depends on how well the meat is cooked.
- Once the meat is almost ready, boil the water, throw in the pasta and finally season directly on the plate, never forgetting a sprinkling of parmesan ‘ncoppa.
