What does fare la scarpetta mean?

There is a moment at the end of a good plate of pasta when the pasta has gone but the sauce hasn't. A slick of tomato, a smear of butter and cheese, a pool of olive oil with flecks of garlic. Leaving it feels like walking out of a film before the end. Italians have a phrase for the solution, and it is one of the most charming in the language.

What it means

Italy's Treccani dictionary lists fare la scarpetta as a colloquial, figurative expression meaning to gather up the sauce left on the plate by running a piece of bread over it, either speared on a fork or, more often, held between the fingers. Scarpetta itself is the diminutive of scarpa, shoe, so the literal sense is "to make the little shoe".

Why a shoe? Treccani doesn't say, and the explanations you hear tend to be guesses: the shape of the bread as it scoops, the way it slides across the plate like a slipper, or a link to the idea of poverty and scraping by. We like all of them and believe none of them in particular.

When it is welcome

Everyone has an opinion, but some rules of thumb hold up well:

• At home, with family and friends: go ahead. To a cook, a plate wiped clean is a better review than any words.
• In a trattoria or osteria: usually fine, especially if the bread basket is on the table for exactly that reason. Be neat about it.
• In a smart restaurant or at a formal dinner: the discreet version is the safe one. Tear a small piece of bread, put it on your fork and guide it through the sauce, rather than chasing it round the plate with your fingers.
• On a business lunch: read the room. If your host does it first, follow.

In every case, do it at the end, once the pasta is finished, not halfway through. And one small piece at a time.

What it is good for

Some sauces almost demand it.

• Tomato sauces, especially simple ones where the oil separates slightly at the edge.
• Oil-based sauces, such as garlic, oil and chilli, where the best flavour is in the pool at the bottom.
• Soups and stews with a broth, like a bowl of beans in their liquid.
• Salad dressings, the mix of tomato juice, oil and salt left after a tomato salad. Arguably the best part.
• Braised vegetables, stews like peperonata or caponata, and the juices from a tray of roast vegetables.

If you want sauce worth mopping up, a good starting point is a tomato sauce that doesn't taste flat.

Which bread does it best

The ideal scarpetta bread is crusty outside, soft and open inside, and plain enough not to compete with the sauce.

• A rustic white loaf with an open, airy crumb, like a pane casereccio, Pugliese or ciabatta. The holes trap sauce.
• Day-old bread works well: firmer, it holds together while it soaks.
• Focaccia is delicious but already oily, so it is best with lighter sauces.
• Soft sliced bread falls apart too quickly. Better for sandwiches.

Tear it with your hands into small pieces rather than cutting it. The ragged edges soak up more. If you bake your own, no-knead bread gives exactly the open, crusty loaf you want.

A small piece of Italian table culture

At the Italian tables we know best, bread is there as a companion to the meal rather than a starter in its own right. Saving a piece for the end means you have something to finish with. The best scarpette are taken slowly, with the last of the wine, while the conversation carries on.