{"id":379316,"date":"2026-04-09T11:19:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T09:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/?p=379316"},"modified":"2026-04-09T11:27:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T09:27:35","slug":"recipe-stewed-catfish-the-taste-of-the-po-as-told-by-gualtieri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/traditional-cooking\/recipe-stewed-catfish-the-taste-of-the-po-as-told-by-gualtieri\/","title":{"rendered":"Recipe: Stewed catfish, the taste of the Po as told by Gualtieri"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Bassa Reggiana<\/strong><\/a>, where the great river shapes landscapes suspended between water and land, the local cuisine preserves stories of ingenuity, survival and identity. In Gualtieri,<\/strong><\/a> one of the most charming villages along the Po, the signature dish is Al P\u00e9s G\u00e0t<\/strong>, or stewed catfish: a simple, authentic recipe rooted in folk culture and life on the floodplains.<\/p>\n

Gualtieri: a village nestled between art and the river<\/h3>\n

Nestled along the River Po, Gualtieri is a little gem of Emilia-Romagna. At its heart lies the picturesque Piazza Bentivoglio<\/strong>, dominated by the imposing Renaissance palace that bears witness to the village\u2019s noble past.<\/p>\n

But beyond the art, it is the river that sets the pace of life here. The floodplains, oxbow lakes and slow-flowing waters have shaped not only the landscape but also local culinary habits. It is precisely in this context that the tradition of catfish emerged, the star of a cuisine that is simple yet rich in flavour.<\/p>\n

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The origins of Al P\u00e9s G\u00e0t<\/h3>\n

The catfish (Ictalurus melas), introduced from North America between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, found an ideal habitat in the River Po. With its stocky, scaleless body, distinctive whiskers and flavourful flesh, it soon became a favourite in local kitchens.<\/p>\n

It was originally introduced for practical reasons: during the processing of hemp, it helped to eliminate the larvae that formed in the water. But from a \u2018working fish\u2019, it quickly became a valuable food source, especially in riverside communities.<\/p>\n

In the backwaters of the Po \u2014 pools of stagnant water formed by flooding \u2014 the catfish proliferated, becoming one of the most accessible ingredients for farming families.<\/p>\n

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\nPh. Depositphotos<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/h3>\n

4 catfish
\n300 g tinned peeled tomatoes
\n1 onion
\n1 stick of celery
\n1 clove of garlic
\nParsley, to taste
\n2 handfuls of fresh peas
\nOil for frying
\nCornflour
\nSalt<\/p>\n

Process<\/h3>\n

Preparing the fish<\/strong>: The catfish must be thoroughly cleaned and any inedible parts removed.
\nCoating and frying<\/strong>: The pieces are coated in cornflour and fried in hot oil until golden brown.
\nThe saut\u00e9<\/strong>: in a pan, prepare a base with onion, celery and garlic.
\nStewing<\/strong>: add the peeled tomatoes, peas and then the fried fish.
\nSlow cooking<\/strong>: cook everything slowly, allowing the flavours to blend until a rich and fragrant sauce is achieved.<\/p>\n

Traditionally, the dish is served with polenta, which is perfect for soaking up the sauce.<\/p>\n

\n

A dish that tells a story<\/h3>\n

Al P\u00e9s G\u00e0t is not just a recipe: it is a testament to an ecosystem that has now largely disappeared. With the transformation of the floodplains and the shrinking of the oxbow lakes, the catfish\u2019s habitat has also been drastically reduced.<\/p>\n

Yet, in the kitchens of Gualtieri, this dish lives on, preserving the bond between man, river and memory. Every mouthful here is a journey through time, between the oxbow lakes of the Po and the stories of the riverside cooks who transformed a humble fish into a symbol of identity.<\/p>\n

In collaboration with: Comune di Gualtieri<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Discover the recipe for Al P\u00e9s G\u00e0t, the traditional catfish stew from Gualtieri: the history, recipe and culinary traditions of the Bassa Reggiana region along the River Po.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":379313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-post-blog-pro.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[1537],"tags":[164859],"village-conntection":[50746],"class_list":["post-379316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-traditional-cooking","tag-traditional-dish","village-conntection-gualtieri-it"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379316"},{"taxonomy":"village-conntection","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.e-borghi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/village-conntection?post=379316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}