Among the dishes to taste in Naples, the Genoese should be at the top of your list! Although Neapolitan cuisine is world-famous for having invented pizza, there are still many dishes to taste.
The “pasta alla Genovese” is one of the most popular first courses of Neapolitan cuisine. The dish, actually, is not conceived by Neapolitans but by some Genoese who a few centuries ago infected the cuisine of Naples with their own culinary ideas. The rest is history. The Neapolitans welcomed the introduction of Genovese pasta into their diet with joy. Today it still is one of the most popular dishes!
Where to eat pasta alla genovese
The pasta alla genovese is the first course created in Naples. Although the name would suggest a Genoese origin, the name of the recipe is due to something else and dates back to the 1600s. At that time, there were many Genoese sailors in Naples. The recipe is their invention and involves the use of recovered meat. With a single cut of meat, you get two plates in one, a “piatto unico”. The sauce, in which the meat is cooked, for the first course, and the meat itself as a second course. The cut of meat provided according to the authentic recipe is the round of veal. The meat is cooked with auburn onions, white wine, celery, and carrots. The result is the first course with an irresistible smell that you can smell in the streets of the city.
Among the places to eat the pasta alla genovese in Naples we recommend the Osteria della Mattonella. The place is in via Nicotera 13, near Piazza del Plebiscito. In the tavern with eighteenth-century tiles, the pasta alla genovese is cooked very slowly. An excellent alternative is the Taverna del Gourmet. Here, the pasta alla genovese is prepared according to a recipe that has been handed down for five generations.