Odoacer, Theodoric and the Pastissada recipe

The Pastissada de Caval is one of the most typical dishes of Veronese cuisine. According to numerous stories, its recipe has precise historical origins, tracing back to the fifth century AD.

Pastissada de Caval: origins

Between September 28 and 30 of 489, a furious battle was fought in the fields around Verona between the King of Italy Odoacer and the King of the Ostrogoths Theodoric. At the end of the clash, which was won by Theodoric, thousands of horses remained on the ground, which the starving people were authorized to recover for provisions.

From waste to use

To make use of the large quantity of meat for a long time, it was cut and left to marinate in red wine, with plenty of spices and vegetables. The subsequent slow cooking led to the discovery of this exquisite dish, whose recipe has been passed down from generation to generation and has reached our days. Some ancient bronze reliefs on the portal of the Basilica of San Zeno tell the famous legend of King Theodoric, later reworked by Carducci's verses, who was captured by a black horse and deposited in the mouth of a great volcano.

Pastissada de caval: how it is eaten in Verona

Great with polenta and the red wine from Valpolicella, like a Ripasso.

Giampaolo Beschin