by Simone Bertelegni
It often happens that groups of Spanish tourists visiting Pavia ask the guides if in the city they are eaten, or at least if the locals of Pavia know what soldaditos de Pavía are. They are slices of cod, breaded in a batter tinted yellow with saffron, and accompanied by red peppers and, sometimes, vegetables.
They are a typical tapa in the bars and trattorias of Madrid, but there is also an Andalusian variant, with fresh cod instead of salt cod. Probably no one in Pavia, unless they have tried them in Spain, knows what they are all about, and it is pointless to order them in Pavia’s restaurants or bars.
It is possible that the origin of the name is linked to the Battle of Pavia (1525), in which the Spanish tercios (formations of heavy infantry) distinguished themselves. The flag of the Tercios Morados Viejos has a yellow background and a red Burgundian cross, the colors of the soldaditos de Pavía with red peppers; in the version with green vegetables, there are also similarities with the flag of the Tercios Morados Viejos in the centuries following the Battle of Pavia.
