History

Ragu napoletano traces to the Spanish viceregal period of Naples (1503 to 1707), when slow-cooking tough cuts in tomato became embedded in the city's cucina povera. It remains the Sunday centrepiece of Neapolitan family cooking, made from Saturday evening to be ready by midday mass on Sunday.

Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield Serves 6Hands-on 45 minTotal 6 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 800g pork spare ribs, chopped
  • 400g beef braciole (thin beef slices rolled with parsley, garlic, pine nuts, raisins and pecorino, tied with string)
  • 300g Neapolitan pork sausage or luganica, pricked
  • 100ml extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion, finely sliced
  • 300ml dry red wine
  • 2 x 400g tins San Marzano tomatoes, crushed
  • 1 tbsp concentrated tomato paste
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 600g paccheri or rigatoni to serve

Method

  1. Heat oil in a heavy casserole over medium-high heat. Brown the pork ribs, braciole and sausage in batches until dark on all sides. Remove and set aside.
  2. In the same fat, cook the onion very gently for 20 minutes until golden and soft, adding a splash of water if it sticks.
  3. Return the meat to the pan. Add wine and let it bubble hard for 3 minutes.
  4. Stir in crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Season. Bring to a bare simmer, cover with the lid left slightly ajar and cook for 4 to 6 hours, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is deep red and the fat has risen in orange pools.
  5. Remove the meat; it is served separately or pulled off the bone as a second course. Cook pasta in boiling salted water, drain, toss with the sauce and serve.

Tip from the editors. The ragu is better the day after it is made; reheat gently and stir in a ladleful of pasta water to loosen.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat ragu napoletano

Ragu Napoletano in Naples

Tandem Ragu ★ 4.5

centro-storico

Tandem on Via Paladino in Naples is the modern ragu specialist that runs three rooms on separate streets, with the Sunday-ragu ritual available daily at under 10 euros per person and no tourist price premium.

Order: Paccheri al ragu napoletano with bread to mop the sauce.

Why locals love it: Three rooms on separate streets across the centro storico run the same ragu napoletano carte from noon to midnight; the Via Paladino original is 50 metres from a major church but sits on a backstreet unknown to first-timers.

Tip: No bookings; arrive 12:30 or 19:30. The paccheri al ragu is 6 euros; bread for mopping is included.

Via Paladino 51, 80138 Napoli

Mimi alla Ferrovia ★ 4.4

Chef Salvatore Giugliano€55centro-storicoBook 2 weeks ahead

Mimi alla Ferrovia near Naples Central Station has cooked Neapolitan classics since 1943, with linguine all'astice the dish Sophia Loren and city politicians keep ordering.

Tip: Closed Sunday all day. Book a fortnight ahead via the website for weekends; the lobster pasta runs around 35 euros.

Via Alfonso d'Aragona 19, 80139 Napoli

Trattoria Nennella ★ 4.5

quartieri-spagnoli

Nennella in Naples' Quartieri Spagnoli runs a 12-euro three-course lunch with shouted orders, pasta e patate con provola and the daily Quartieri Spagnoli antipasto in a no-frills room.

Try: Three-course working-class lunch

Tip: Cash only. Arrive by 12:00 for lunch or 19:00 for dinner; no bookings.

Vico Lungo Teatro Nuovo 105, 80134 Napoli

Osteria Donna Teresa ★ 4.5

vomero

Osteria Donna Teresa in Naples' Vomero has run a verbal daily menu since 1913, with no printed carte and no signage, serving Vomero workers a 12-euro three-course lunch in a six-table room.

Order: Meatballs al sugo and pasta e patate con provola; ask the server about the daily fish.

Why locals love it: On a Vomero backstreet (Via Kerbaker 58) far from the tourist circuits, Donna Teresa has run since 1913 on a verbal menu dictated daily; no sign outside and no online reservation, just the neighbourhood regulars.

Tip: Closed Sunday. Arrive by 13:00 for lunch and ask the server what is on today; the meatballs and anchovies are the constants.

Via Michele Kerbaker 58, 80129 Napoli

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