Tomato role
Primary — the tomato is the leading ingredient
Form the tomato takes
cooked sauce, preserved, concentrate
Season
Cooked all year from the previous summer's preserved tomatoes; the tomatoes themselves are put up in August and September.
What it is
Large pieces of meat cooked for hours in tomato until the sauce goes dark and the meat gives way. The sauce dresses pasta; the meat is eaten afterwards as a second course.
Known locally as 'O rraù.
Traditional tomato
San Marzano and related Campanian plum types, typically preserved rather than fresh. San Marzano dell'Agro Sarnese-Nocerino holds EU protected designation of origin status.
Method
Not yet cooked and tested by the desk, so there is no method here. We would rather print nothing than a recipe we have not made.
Origins
A Neapolitan household dish of long, slow cooking, distinct from the finely minced Bolognese ragù. Its identity is tied to the volcanic plain south-east of Vesuvius, where the plum tomatoes used for preserving are grown.
Field notes
No field notes filed from Campania yet.
The Ledger
No cook or grower has yet put a record against this dish. When one does, the varieties actually used will appear here — with who recorded them and how firmly.
File a recordAudio dispatches
No dispatch has been recorded around this dish yet.
Sources
- eAmbrosia — Pomodoro S. Marzano dell'Agro Sarnese-Nocerino PDO — European Commission, accessed 2026-08-09
Documented by The Tomato Post desk · last checked 2026-08-09 · The Tomato Post is not a ratings or review platform