A dish of our Ligurian tradition born poor and become prized and refined
Here is the Cappon magro of the Oste di Prua Ferrer Manuelli, interpreted by chef Gian Luca Cellerino

Friends of Pesto Genovese and our beloved Pesto Fresco, today we are going to talk to you about a dish from our Ligurian tradition, according to the recipe of the great Ferrer Manuelli: Cappon Magro.
Have you ever eaten it?

It is an originally poor preparation. Cappon Magro was in fact eaten by fishermen, either directly on boats or by the servants of the nobility who thus reused the leftovers from their banquets.
Today, however, it is considered a very refined dish, involving the use of fine ingredients.
The ancient recipe was made richer and more choreographic as early as the Baroque period, when people began to decorate it with sauces, shrimps and other delicacies.

We bring you the recipe of the great Ferrer Manuelli, Oste di Prua beloved by so many celebrities, from the book “Pesto and Buridda,” which we have already discussed in this article.

Ingredients of Ferrer Manuelli’s Cappon Magro.

For 10 people
One capon or sea bream fish giving one kilogram of boiled flesh
2 hg of “Musciamme”
One medium cauliflower
One full cane green celery
half a fennel
A bunch of scorzonera
a red beet
a clove of garlic
a stale loaf of hard loaf bread
1.5 hg mushrooms in oil
6 anchovies deboned
1 hg green olives
1 hg black olives
3 hg assorted chopped giardiniera
1 kg of scampi
0.5 kg of large clams or clamshells
1 kg of muscle
20 fresh shelled king prawns
¼ frantonio Ligurian extra virgin olive oil
vinegar
salt to taste

Preparing Cappon Magro

• Have the vegetables boiled separately, then cut them up and, again separately, season them with oil, vinegar and salt
• Cut the bread into slices, toast them a little and rub them with garlic
• Have the clams and muscles open
• Boil capon fish (or sea bream), langoustines and king prawns
• When all the ingredients are ready, arrange the garlic bread slices on the bottom of a large serving dish, sprinkling them just slightly with a little vinegar
• Arrange a layer of vegetables on top of the bread with a few anchovies and a nice covering of Musciamme
• Overlap a layer of boiled fish
• Proceed in this way until all ingredients are used up
• Garnish the dish with mushrooms, olives and what your imagination suggests to have a good choreographic result
• Season with oil
• Let stand at least one hour before serving

Lots of ingredients but a very simple procedure, as you can see.
In the photo, an interpretation of the recipe by Chef Gian Luca Cellerino of Ristocaffè Il Ponte di Toirano.
Happy weekend to all lovers of Pesto, Cappon Magro and Liguria.