Cappon magro

Cappon magro is a visually stunning and meticulously crafted salad originating from Genoa. The dish features an array of seafood and vegetables artistically arranged in a pyramid atop hardtack, all drizzled with a rich, flavorful sauce. For a simpler alternative, you might consider capponata, a similar dish popular in Liguria, Sardinia, and Campania. This version typically includes tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, eggs, bottarga, and dried tuna, all mixed with olive oil.

The name "Cappon magro" translates to "fast-day capon" signifying its suitability for traditional Catholic fasting days like Christmas Eve because it contains no meat. The dish begins with hardtack biscuits, which are rubbed with garlic and soaked in seawater and vinegar. Subsequently, various layers of vegetables, fish, and seafood—such as white fish, lobster, green beans, celery, carrots, beets, and potatoes—are added. Each ingredient is boiled separately, chopped, seasoned, and layered. The dressing consists of parsley, garlic, capers, anchovies, hard-boiled egg yolks, green olives, olive oil, and vinegar. The pyramid is crowned with a lobster and adorned with garnishes like olives, bottarga, capers, anchovies, crayfish, artichokes, and hard-boiled eggs.

In Naples, there is a variation called Caponata Estiva, or Summer Caponata. This dish incorporates ring-shaped rusks dressed with olive oil, salt, garlic, oregano, basil, and tomatoes. Optional additions include tuna, smoked herring, pickled vegetables, olives, anchovies, sardines, boiled eggs, beef, cucumber, carrot, and celery, making it a versatile and refreshing option for the warmer months.