Scapece alla vastese

Scapece is a very old way of preserving fish: first it is fried, then placed in a bath of white wine vinegar. In Vasto saffron is added to the vinegar, colouring the fish golden yellow and scenting it.

The fish most used is skate, but smooth-hound is also used. It is still sold from traditional wooden tubs and eaten cold, as a starter or main course.

• 1 kg skate or smooth-hound in pieces
• Flour for dusting
• Oil for frying
• 750 ml white wine vinegar
• 1 sachet (or a few threads) of saffron
• Salt

1. Clean the fish, cut it into pieces a few centimetres long, dry it well and salt it.
2. Flour the pieces and fry them in very hot oil until golden; drain on kitchen paper.
3. Warm the vinegar without boiling it and dissolve the saffron in it.
4. In a glass or earthenware container lay the fish in layers, pouring saffron vinegar over each layer until it is completely covered.
5. Cover and leave in a cool place for at least a day before serving.

• Use a glass, earthenware or wooden container, not metal: the vinegar would attack it.
• If using saffron threads, infuse them in the warm vinegar for a few hours.
• Kept covered by the vinegar in the fridge, it lasts several days.

We do not have photos of this dish yet: the image is an illustration made for this page.

Before refrigerators, vinegar was one of the safest ways to preserve fish and carry it inland. Scapece was sold at fairs and markets.

Saffron, grown on the Navelli plateau, reached the coast along the old trade routes and drove roads.