Typical dish of Verona
Pastissada de Caval with polenta
Pastissada de Caval is a dark, deeply flavored stew in which horse meat, long marinated in red wine, melts into a thick, aromatic sauce. Spices and soffritto create a warm fragrance with slightly sweet and spiced notes. The texture is extremely tender, almost fibrous, and it is traditionally served with soft yellow polenta that soaks up the rich sauce. It’s a hearty dish, perfect for a convivial lunch or a winter dinner.
Season: Autunno-Inverno€12–20
Why it matters
In Verona, Pastissada de Caval is more than a recipe: it is a symbol of the city’s historical memory. Passed down through osterie and Veronese families, it represents the ability of local cuisine to transform a historical event into a gastronomic tradition. Even today it is considered one of the strongest identity dishes of Veronese culinary culture.
Origin story
Tradition links the birth of the dish to the battle of 489 AD between the Ostrogoths and the troops of Odoacer near Verona. After the clash, the local population is said to have recovered the meat of fallen horses, marinating it in wine and cooking it slowly with spices to preserve and tenderize it. Over time, the preparation was refined until it became one of the most famous stews of Veronese cuisine.
Typical ingredients
carne di cavallovino rossocipollacarotasedanochiodi di garofanopolenta
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