Italophile chowhounds know the phrase fare la scarpetta (“to make the little shoe”), which describes the act of mopping the plate with a morsel of bread to punctuate the end of a meal. So enamored are Italians with the magic that happens when crusty bread meets tangy ragù, in fact, that they have another word for it: cuzzetiello.
Cuzzetiello, according to our Italian sauce-sopping consultant, is Neapolitan for plunging the hollowed-out heel of a rustic loaf (called a cafone) into the pot of Sunday sauce when Nonna isn’t looking. A few years ago, fast-casual gastropreneurs took to the streets of Naples riffing on the tradition, cramming half-loaves with all manner of saucy foodstuffs.
