CAPPON MAGRO, A "STAY IN SHAPE" MASTERPICE

Once prepared during Lent, His Majesty cappon magro is a Baroque monument celebrating the sea and the vegetable garden

Cappon Magro: a scenic recipe

Enjoy a mosaic of fish, crustaceans, shellfish, vegetables, eggs, ship biscuits, seasoned with either lavish salsa verde or more frugal EVO, vinegar and lemon juice. 

Its origins might (and I underline the conditional “might”) be linked to capponadde and capun galera/carbunera di bordo, the clear evidence of “no food waste” preparations based on leftovers. 

There is no “one and only” recipe for this cold dish, nowadays enjoyed at Christmas, too. Olives feature as decorations; ship biscuits are drenched in vinegar or in white wine.

 
As for wine matching, if you want to go local opt for Vermentino, or Bianchetta (served at 11°C): outside the regional borders Falanghina from Campania or Chenin Blanc from the Loire area are excellent alternatives.

“Pesto e Buridda”, written by Dario G. Martini and Ferrer Manuelli in 1975, dedicates its last section to the “100 ricette dell’oste di prua”, the 100 recipes by the prow innkeeper, i.e. Ferrer Manuelli himself, a renowned cook from Savona who, in the early 1970s, was the first chef to “conquer” Italian TV programmes. It comes as no surprise that cappon magro features in this section of the volume, with a clear reference to Ligurian extra virgin oil.

My English abstract of the article by Umberto Curti as published on Liguria Food

Luisa Puppo

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