PASTA GENOVESE

Oh my Italian goodness!!  This recipe was heavenly.  Rich meat sauce exploding with flavor; a departure from the usual tomato based Italian sauces.  Absolutely delicious!

Know that you have about 30 minutes of prep...but after that, it all goes into the crock pot and you have an absolutely scrumptious meal about 6 hours later.  Oh, and the house smells wonderful as it's cooking.

There also is a point in the prep where you do need a food processor.  I just recently bought a small version and am loving it!

INGREDIENTS:

1 - 1½ lb. boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1½ inch pieces

2 tsp. salt, divided

1 tsp. black pepper, divided

2 lbs. yellow onions, chopped coarse

2 oz. pancetta, chopped coarse

2 oz. salami, chopped coarse

1 small carrot, peeled and chopped

1 small celery rib, chopped

1/3 cup dry white wine

1/3 cup water

4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

1 Tbsp. dried oregano

1 cup grated romao cheese

1 lb. rigatoni

DIRECTIONS:

Sprinkle the beef with 1 tsp. salt and ½ tsp. pepper and place in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker.   

Pulse the onions in a food processor until finely minced, about 15 pulses, scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.  Transfer the onions to a large bowl and stir in ¼ tsp. salt.  Cover and microwave for 5 minutes.  Drain the onions in a fine mesh strainer, pressing with a rubber spatula to extract the excess liquid.  Return the drained onions to the now empty bowl. 

Process the pancetta, salami, carrot and celery in the now empty food processor until ground to a paste, about 45 seconds, scrape the bowl as needed.  Transfer the pancetta mixture to the bowl with the onions.  Stir the wine, water, 2 Tbsp. of the olive oil, tomato paste, oregano, 3/4 tsp. salt, and ½ tsp. pepper into the onion mixture until thoroughly combined.  

Pour the onion mixture over the beef, covering completely.  Cover and cook until the beef is fully tender (8-9 hours on low or 5-6 hours on high). 

Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Reserve ½ cup of the water prior to draining.

Using a potato masher, mash the meat until coarsely shredded into bite size pieces.  Stir in the Romano cheese and the remaining 2 Tbsp. olive oil.   Thin the sauce if you feel it needs it using the ½ cup reserved water. 

Note:  The original recipe suggested placing the cooked pasta into the crock pot and mixing it with the sauce.  I chose to spoon the pasta into individual serving bowls and ladle sauce on top for each portion. 

recipe c/o Cook's Country