Genovese, the Neapolitan ragout The Genoese is a traditional recipe from Campania, very popular all over Italy. Although the name refers to the Ligurian city, this recipe doesn’t come from its territory. The Genoese is a ragout sauce perfect for pasta recipes: it’s a very special one, without tomato sauce but with lots of onions and meat. The onions take on flavour during the long cooking process and turn into a puree, giving the dish a sweet note. Typically, the Genovese ragù matches to a specific type of pasta: ziti.