Soldaditos de Pavía (lit. “little soldiers of

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

”) is a dish of fried cod wrapped in a slice of roasted red pepper. The dish is found in

Andalusian cuisine Andalusian cuisine is the regional cuisine of Andalusia, Spain. Notable dishes include gazpacho, fried fish (often called ''pescaíto frito'' in the local vernacular), the jamones of Jabugo, Valle de los Pedroches and Trevélez, and the wines ...

and common at

tapas Tapas () are appetisers or snacks in Spanish cuisine. They can be combined to make a full meal and are served cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as , which are battered, fried baby squid; or , spicy potatoes). In some bars ...

bars in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, capital of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The cod is marinated in a

paprika Paprika is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers, traditionally ''capsicum annuum''. It can have varying levels of Pungency, heat, but the peppers used for hot paprika tend to be milder and have thinner flesh than those used to produce ...

and

lemon juice The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

mix. Before being fried, the pieces of cod can be placed in cold seasoned water and removed when the water begins to boil. It's said to be a popular dish after

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

in the 1905 cookbook by Manuel Maria Puga y Parga. The name of the dish may be taken from the similarity in colour of its wrapping of red pepper to the orange-red uniforms of the

Hussars A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

References

Tapas Andalusian cuisine Culture in Madrid Fish dishes Fried foods {{Spain-cuisine-stub