Recipe of the week: pasta with stewed beef from Naples

The Pasta Grannies team came across this recipe while staying in a rented flat in Naples, says Vicky Bennison: the host’s mother, Anna Maria, cooked it for them, and explained that it’s a typical Sunday lunch for Neapolitans.

Ingredients: serves four to six people

For the sauce:

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• extra-virgin olive oil 600g stewing beef, cut into 5cm
• chunks
• 1kg or 4 large red onions, thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 celery stick, thinly sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 100ml dry white wine water or beef stock, as required
• salt

For the pasta:

• 400g of ziti or other dry pasta such as penne, paccheri, rigatoni

To serve:

• grated pecorino
• black pepper

Method

• Pour a slug of olive oil into a large casserole dish. Heat this over a medium heat for a few minutes then brown the beef a few pieces at a time.
• Once all the beef pieces have a bit of colour, put them in a pan along with the vegetables. Season with salt, drop in the bay leaf, give everything a good stir and pour in the wine. Cover and braise the vegetables and meat for about 3hrs.
• Check the mixture regularly and if it starts to stick, add a little water or stock. You are aiming for a creamy onion sauce, and beef so soft you can cut it with a fork. Shred the meat if you like – or remove it to serve as a second course.
• If using ziti, break them in half. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta for the time stated on the packet. Drain thoroughly. Place it in a large bowl and mix well with the onion and beef sauce. Let everyone add their own cheese and pepper.

Taken from Pasta Grannies: Comfort Cooking by Vicky Bennison, published by Hardie Grant at £22. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £17.99, call 020 3176 3835.