{"id":81090,"date":"2024-04-30T15:19:51","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T13:19:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stradadeiparchi.it\/teramo-virtues-the-gastronomic-specialty-of-may-1\/"},"modified":"2024-04-30T15:19:51","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T13:19:51","slug":"teramo-virtues-the-gastronomic-specialty-of-may-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stradadeiparchi.it\/en\/teramo-virtues-the-gastronomic-specialty-of-may-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Teramo virtues, the gastronomic specialty of May 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Abruzzo, a typical recipe of the most deeply rooted tradition is prepared on May 1: the Virt\u00f9 teramane<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Legend has it that the dish is so named because it had to be prepared by 7 virgins, using 7 legumes, 7 flavorings, 7 meats, 7 seasonal vegetables, 7 kinds of pasta, cooked in 7 hours–just as 7 are the Christian virtues.<\/p>\n

According to some, however, the name comes from the legumes and vegetables that soldiers in Roman times carried in sacks, called precisely “Virtutes<\/em>,” the fruits of the farmers’ field labor.<\/p>\n

However, the legend closest to the truth tells that the virtues represent the goodwill, wisdom and imagination of the “virtuous<\/em>” women who, after a long winter, were able to prepare a delicious dish to celebrate the arrival of spring with the leftovers from the larder, new crops and gastronomic scraps of various kinds.<\/p>\n

They are neither a minestrone nor a soup, but a single dish prepared with fresh ingredients that, once upon a time, were the poorest and simplest products that the earth donated to the peasants: legumes, vegetables and first fruits of the incoming good season harvested together with smells, herbs and spices, wisely combined with the winter leftovers. The quantities and ingredients of Teramo’s Virtues are very subjective, in fact each family prepares its own version jealously guarding the recipe and handing it down from generation to generation. <\/p>\n

The aspect that is not transcended, however, is its preparation, because it follows a long, meticulous ritual related to the search for the raw materials to be used, with a precise timeline to be respected:<\/p>\n