Teramo’s Virtù, a Tasty Minestra, made only on 1st May
The ‘Virtù’ is a traditional rich ‘minestra’ made of 50+ ingredients, prepared ONLY on the 1st of May in the province of Teramo in Abruzzo.
It is prepared following an ancient complex recipe, believed to be propitiatory, so much to intrigue foodies, chefs, and anthropologists from all over the world.
This ancient dish requires 3 days of work as it is made of about 50 ingredients, among different types of beans, legumes, chickpeas, seasonal vegetables, wild herbs, cut of meats, etc. All carefully prepared and cooked separately. A propitiatory dish cleans the pantry and welcomes the warm season. During the preparation of 3 days, small local communities gather together to cooking, eating, drinking and above all share and offer the Virtu’ to other families in the village!
This video is from last year with some scenes of Nonna who made Virtu’ at home today and asked me to take some of it to her friends. You can see their reaction when I brought them the Virtù, my neighbour, Francesco gave me a homemade salame in exchange.
What a beautiful day! Happy Labour Day! Hope to see you next year and prepare the Virtù together.
A video from the Slow Food Founder on the Teramo’s Virtù
Watch the video ‘Le virtù – La città in un piatto’ from Cineforum Teramo.