Pasta Alla Genovese

Ingredients

• 1.9kg red onions
• 80ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 celery rib, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 115g bacon or pancetta, chopped
• 1kg beef chuck, cut into 5cm cubes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 60ml dry white wine, plus more if desired
• 450g dried pasta, like ziti, tortiglioni or rigatoni
• Finely grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the onions in the boiling water, and cook, covered, 15 minutes. Drain the onions, and let cool a bit, then slice very thinly.
2. Heat 40 ml oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high. Stir in the carrots, celery and bacon and cook for 4 minutes. Add the beef, then cover with the onions. Pour the remaining 40 ml oil over the onions and season with 9 g salt and 1.5 g pepper. Cover, bring to a simmer and cook gently until the beef is tender, about 2 hours; the onions will release plenty of liquid.
3. Uncover the pot and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring more frequently as the liquid reduces and lowering the heat as necessary to prevent scorching, until the meat has fallen apart and the sauce is creamy, about 45 minutes. Stir in the wine and taste, adding more wine if desired. Reduce the heat to low, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce is glossy and quite thick, about 15 minutes more.
4. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, then drain and toss with the sauce. Stir in Parmesan to taste, then serve.