Vastase in name, tasty in fact

“cu mancia patati un mori mai”

by Margherita Simonte

In these times when the regions are armored and the catering is collapsing, I was looking for a recipe that could bring me back to my land flavors and aromas.
I came across this recipe of the so-called “vastase” potatoes and the result was amazing.
Probably because I decided to let my husband cook them, following this recipe and adding a secret touch, one sprinkled of paprika.
This delicacy is present in any Trapani pizzeria menus, where the potato slices, mozzarella, onion and tomato are tied together by the unmistakable fragrance of the wood oven.

A dish rich in flavor, but from a poor tradition

In fact, the term "vastase" indicates rough, rude, a dish of the earth, popular, colorful as the tradition and language of the people of Trapani. My grandfather told of the periods of imprisonment during the Second World War, spent peeling and eating potatoes, even the peel was not wasted. Perhaps this is why my grandmother, that if she saw me now eating fruit without peel she would pull my ears, she always said to me: "cu mancia patati un mori mai".

“cu mancia patati un mori mai”

Those who eat potatoes never die, almost like a motto of hope, which never hurts these days. The same hope that Trapani restaurateurs have in being able to soon return to prepare this typical dish for all those who want to discover the flavors and riches of this land that awaits tourists, as Penelope expected her Ulysses of her. Let's hope at least that it's not twenty years, but that it is limited to "twenty twenty".

Foto da Sanvitoweb.com

 

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