Pelati are whole peeled tomatoes preserved for the pantry, ready to be cut or crushed into a sauce.
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In the Marsica preparation, pelati join the meat after its long simmer.
For ragù di pecora, the peeled tomatoes are chopped and added when the sheep meat has become tender. The final simmer brings them into the meat sauce. This sequence leaves the tomatoes a distinct task: finishing the ragù rather than supplying the liquid for the entire braise.
The tomatoes are preserved without their skins. Mutti provides one producer example: it peels its tomatoes with steam and packs them whole in a tomato sauce. Choose the preserve by its form, then cut or crush the tomatoes to suit the dish.
Chop the pelati coarsely for the sheep ragù. For a finer sauce, crush them with a spoon as they cook. Keep the recipe’s order of cooking when making the ragù: the tomato comes after the meat has softened.
Choose a pack labeled pomodori pelati when you want whole tomatoes to chop yourself. Read the ingredient list and the product’s cooking directions. The shape of the preserve gives you control over the final pieces in the sauce.
They are the whole peeled form. Chop or crush them for the dish you are making.
After the meat’s long simmer, for the final stage of cooking.
Choose whole peeled tomatoes for the ragù and chop them coarsely before adding them to the meat.
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