Zucchine alla scapece

Scapece is one of the names of the classical way of preserving (mainly) fish and vegetables in vinegar. Many different cultures have similar methods often with different names and that is the case even inside of Italy. In the south the name scapece dominates whereas in regions like Veneto and Friuli the term "in saor" is normally used. Recipes do differ but the principle doesn't: the vinegar increases the shelf life of these preparations and functions in some cases, even as "cooking" agent, especially when used on raw fish like in the alici in sacpece recipe.

The name scapece has quite certainly an Arabic origin, as does the Spanish escabeche (thanks to vserna on eGullet for letting me know about this). Some Italian food historans claim the term comes from the latin "esca Apicii", Apicius's sauce, but there's no real evidence of this: the sauce, very similar to scapece does indeed appear in some Roman texts but under the simple name of liquamen. But back to the food.

A few notes: The traditional oil for frying the zucchini is olive. It might seem like a waste to use olive oil for frying but I find it does make a difference in taste. You don't need to fill a fryer with oil. A flat wide pan with 2 cm of oil will do fine. You can also keep the oil, filtered and refrigerated, and use it for vegetable dishes such as ratatouille. It will add a little extra taste to the dish.
The cooking of the water vinegar solution has the function of reducing the strength of the wine vinegar. Depending on how long you cook it the scapece will end up being more or less sour. I use about 5 minutes but some recipes call for 10.

Zucchini alla scapece
serves between 6 and 10 people depending if you serve it as one of many antipasti, starter or side.

2 kg medium zucchini
2/3 cup white wine vinegar
2/3 cup water
oil for frying
a handful of mint leaves
2 garlic cloves, cut to thin slices
salt
pepper

Slice the zucchini into 3-4 mm thick rounds. Place the sliced zucchini in a colander sprinkling with salt. After 1-2 hours rinse them in water and pat them dry.

Heat the oil (to about 200C) and fry the zucchini in batches. The zucchini are done once they start to brown slightly. Remove the first batch of zucchini and arrange them them in one or more layers in a serving bowl. Sprinkle some pepper and place a few mint leaves and garlic slices between each layer. Continue till all zucchini are done. Sprinkle two tablespoons of the frying oil on top.

Place water and vinegar in a small pot and bring to boil. Reduce the heat so the liquid just simmers for another five minutes. Pour onto the zucchini and leave to rest at room temperature for at least 24 hours before eating. After 3-4 days the flavor is at its best.

Comments

[Max Prola]

Also known as zucchine in carpione. Try using lots of sage leaves, too.