Vernazza's humble earthenware bake: alternating layers of fresh anchovies and sliced potatoes with tomatoes, garlic and oregano, moistened with olive oil and local white wine and roasted until the fish caramelise and the potatoes drink up every drop of the pan juices.
A cornerstone of the Ligurian cucina povera, the tegame alla vernazzana belongs to the fishing villages of the Cinque Terre, where fresh anchovies were the most abundant and economical protein on the Riviera di Levante. The technique of slow-baking anchovies layered with potatoes in an earthenware tian is shared across the Ligurian and Provençal coasts, reflecting centuries of coastal poverty cooking. Vernazza's version pairs the dish with the local Vermentino white wine; the prized Sciacchetrà passito is reserved for the table. The dish is too everyday to have a single recorded origin.
Silky anchovy flesh collapses against potato slices that have drunk up all the olive-oil-and-wine pan juices; garlic and oregano perfume each mouthful, and the topmost fish caramelise where they press against the hot earthenware.
In the enclosed earthenware dish, moisture from the anchovies and potatoes cycles as steam, braising the layers from below while the oven's radiant heat browns the exposed top surface at 185°C. Olive oil disperses the fish's lipids and fat-soluble glutamates through the dish, deepening savouriness. Potato starch gelatinises, thickening the pan juices into a natural sauce that coats each layer. Acidity from tomatoes and white wine inhibits lipid oxidation, keeping the anchovies sweet and bright rather than fishy.
Variations
Some versions add sliced zucchini or fennel between the layers, or scatter Ligurian capers and black olives for extra brine. A breadcrumb topping gives a contrasting crunch. The dish is sometimes made with desalted salt-packed anchovies instead of fresh, producing a more concentrated, preserved flavour.
On the Palate
Where Tegame di Acciughe alla Vernazzana sits in the Italian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
7 steps · 20 min
- 15 min
Preheat oven to 185°C; rub an earthenware baking dish with a halved garlic clove, then brush the base and sides with olive oil.
- 210 min
Clean fresh anchovies: remove heads and backbones, butterfly open, rinse under cold water and pat dry.
- 38 min
Peel potatoes and slice 3mm thin; slice tomatoes into rounds; thinly slice the remaining garlic.
Watch outSlice the potatoes about 3 mm — thin enough to go tender in the same time the fish cooks; thick slices stay hard while the top browns.
- 43 min
Layer half the potato slices across the base of the dish; season with salt, pepper and a pinch of dried oregano.
- 55 min
Lay half the anchovies flat over the potatoes; top with tomato rounds and garlic slices; repeat with remaining potatoes and anchovies, finishing with a final layer of anchovies on top.
- 62 min
Drizzle generously with olive oil; pour white wine around the edges of the dish.
- 740 min
Bake uncovered at 185°C for 30–35 minutes until the potatoes are tender and the top anchovies are lightly caramelised; rest 5 minutes before serving.
Watch outPull it when the top anchovies are just lightly caramelised and the potatoes give to a knife — the pan should look glazed, not dried out.
Archive tool suggestions — not reviewed
These legacy suggestions have not been evidence-reviewed and are not presented as required tools.
