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[Creeperopolis]

Neapolitan ragù is a ragù associated with the city of Naples, Italy, made by browning then braising meat over several hours in tomato purée and sauce. When the meat is ready, it is removed and the sauce is left to continue cooking and thickening. In the Italian meal structure, Neapolitan ragù is served in two stages: first as sauce served over pasta, and then as meat eaten alone or with vegetables, lightly dressed with the remaining sauce.

Ragùs are rich, often meaty sauces that are eaten across Italy. The people of Naples hold their version in high regard, calling it rraù in the Neapolitan language, and several writers from the area describe it as the "queen of sauces".[1] Throughout Italy, the dish is known under names including ragù alla napoletana[a] and ragù napoletano.[2] Although it contains tomato and meat, it is fundamentally perceived to be a meat sauce, with the tomato understood as a conduit for meat flavours.

Neapolitan ragù evolved from the French ragoût, introduced to Italy in the later 17th century. Over the following 150 years, ingredients foreign to the modern ragù such as asparagus and truffle were dropped, and tomatoes and pasta were added. In the 19th century, emigrants brought the dish to America, where it was developed into the Italian-American gravy and the dish spaghetti and meatballs.

The dish is far less well-known than ragù alla bolognese. The two differ in several respects: the Neapolitan ragù cooks for a longer time, includes more tomatoes and rarely celery and carrot, uses whole pieces of meat rather than minced, and is served with short, ridged pastas rather than long, flat ones.