Fusilli con le Zucchine a Scapece

Looking into the origin of a dish is sometimes like looking into a telescope that contracts history rather than distance. The zucchini used here as sauce for fusilli are known as a scapece, an Italianization of the Spanish escabeche. It is a manner of pickling vegetables or small fish by first frying them in olive oil, then steeping them in vinegar and mint. Although the word comes from the Spanish, the dish comes from the ancient Romans and, before them, probably from