The cazzomarro, or simply marro, is a large roll of lamb offal wrapped in the animal’s caul fat, tied with its intestines and cooked over embers. It is a recognised traditional food of Gravina in Puglia. And the name, despite how it sounds to Italian ears, is not rude: it comes from the dialect verb cazzare, to press.

The cazzomarro: a speciality of the Murge

A meat dish much loved in Puglia: the marro, called cibreo in some areas and, in popular speech, cazzmarr or cazzomarro. It belongs to the Murge, the high limestone plateau of inland Puglia, and above all to Gravina in Puglia, where it is listed as a Traditional Agri-food Product on Italy’s official register of traditional foods. It is also eaten across the border, around Matera.

Pieces of raw lamb in a white bowl, with a jar of salt, lemon wedges and fresh herbs on a wooden table

Where the name comes from: nothing vulgar. To an Italian the name raises a smile, but it has nothing to do with anatomy: the origin is in the dialect. Cazz comes from the dialect verb cazzare, which means to press or squash, and that is exactly what the dish is, offal pressed and packed together into one big roll. The second half, marro, probably comes from the Latin marra, a heap of stones, an image that fits a compact mound of ingredients well. No phallic reference, then, however much popular humour has always enjoyed the suspicion.

Not to be confused with the Sicilian cazzamarru. Despite the almost identical name, the Sicilian cazzamarru is a completely different dish, made with vegetables and wild greens, not offal. The two names share a sound, not a recipe. The real close relative of the cazzomarro is the gnummareddo, a very similar roll of offal but much smaller: the size of a finger, against the clenched fist of a marro.

Ingredients

  • assorted lamb offal and innards
  • the caul fat (the thin, lacy membrane of fat around the stomach) and the intestines of the lamb, to wrap and tie
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • wine vinegar
  • parsley
  • salt
  • pepper

Method

  1. Cut the lamb offal into small pieces, washing and rinsing them over and over.
  2. Leave the caul fat to soften in water with a little vinegar, then dry it and spread it out on a work surface.
  3. Mix the offal with parsley, salt and black pepper.
  4. Roll the caul fat around the mixture into a sort of fat sausage and tie it round with the intestines, without losing any of the filling.
  5. Thread the marro onto a spit and cook it slowly, ideally over wood embers, for at least an hour.

Notes and variations. You can use kid offal instead of lamb. Instead of the embers, the marro can be cooked in a baking tin with plenty of water in a wood-fired oven, with heat from above and below.

At a glance. Preparation: 2 hours. Difficulty: medium. Wine: a Nardò rosato, served at 12-14°C.

The cazzomarro is an old dish, from the days when the prized cuts of meat were a rarity and farming families learned to use every part of the animal. It is worth seeking out if you want to know the most genuine side of Puglia, the Murge around Gravina with their masserie, the fortified farmhouses of the countryside, and their rural traditions. For more meat and fish from the Apulian kitchen, see our second courses.