The dish consists of a gratin of
green vegetables, spinach, and
chard (blettes), sometimes mixed
with marrows, all finely chopped,
and first melted in – this is
essential – olive oil. For this reason
the dish is to be found in olive-
growing areas. But from one region
to another the dish is subject to all
kinds of variations, which give it
its local cachet. Up in the hills they
do not despise the addition of salt
cod, on the coast this is replaced
with fresh sardines or anchovies.
‘This savoury mosaic can also be
enriched with a few cloves of
garlic, a cupful of rice, or a handful