Friggione is Bologna's slow-cooked side dish: white onions, San Marzano tomatoes and salt, simmered for three hours into a dark, sweet jam. Served with bollito misto, polenta or as a salumi-board condiment.

Friggione is the everyday Bolognese countryside dish that arrived in the city in the 19th century through the contadino kitchens. The Accademia Italiana della Cucina deposited the legal recipe with the Camera di Commercio of Bologna on 23 January 2009: 1kg white onions, 500g peeled tomatoes, sea salt, no garlic, no herbs, slow-cooked uncovered three hours over very low heat until the onions break down into a dark, jam-like glaze. The 2009 deposit settled the long Bolognese kitchen argument over whether olive oil or lard was canonical (the answer: olive oil). Trattoria di Via Serra, Da Cesari and Diana serve it as a side; Tamburini sells it by the tub at the counter.

4 editor picks for Friggione in Bologna, ranked by editorial score. All Bologna signature dishes · Friggione across every city.