The ingredients in a refined, elegant dish: “Cappon magro”

2017-07-21 “Cappon magro” is a traditional appetiser from Liguria, created to be consumed on the “giorni di magro”: the days when the calendar of the Catholic church prohibited the eating of meat.
Originally a humble fisherman’s dish, in the seventeenth century it evolved into a richer, more elaborate dish, in terms of both ingredients and method of preparation. Today it is a dramatic appetiser, served decorated with delightful garnishes.
The version described here is by Flavio Costa, a starred chef of Ligurian origin who runs “21.9” restaurant at Tenuta Carretta in Piobesi d’Alba (Cuneo), where his Ligurian cuisine meets the traditions of Piedmont for a fine dining experience in one of the most beautiful wineries on the left bank of the Tanaro River.
Here are the ingredients for four portions of this elegant appetiser.
For the sauce:
• 100 grams parsley;
• 10 grams capers;
• 2 salted anchovies;

• 1 hard-boiled egg; 

• 100 ml extra virgin olive oil;
• 50 ml vinegar.
Vegetables:
• 1⁄2 cauliflowers;
• 1 carrot;
• 100 grams “grigetti” string beans;
• 100 grams potatoes;
• 1 rib celery;
• 100 ml extra virgin olive oil.

Seafood:
• 500 grams white fish;
• 4 scampi;
• 4 prawns;
• 4 oysters.
Accompaniment:
• 8 artichoke hearts preserved in olive oil;
• 8 porcini mushrooms preserved in olive oil;

• 100 grams mosciame di tonno (filetted salt-cured tuna);

• 3 hard-boiled eggs;

• 1 small cooked beetroot;

• 2 sailor’s biscuits.
In our next post, we will see how to make Flavio Costa’s version of "Cappon magro".

Mariagrazia Villa

Recipe: chef Flavio Costa (“21.9” at Tenuta Carretta, Piobesi d’Alba, Cuneo) Source: Luciano Tona, Arturo Delle Donne, Andrea Sinigaglia (ed.), Gusto Italiano. Cucina contemporanea dei maestri Alma, Edizioni Plan, Milan, 2012
Photo: Arturo Delle Donne