18/05/2026
Cavàl pist (Parmesan dialect for “pounded horse meat”) is a traditional dish from Parma and its surrounding province in northern Italy.
The dish consists of finely minced or hand-chopped raw horse meat seasoned with garlic, parsley, salt, black pepper, olive oil or lemon juice, and sometimes Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. It is traditionally eaten raw and is often served as an appetizer alongside bread or torta fritta.
Cavàl pist is considered part of Parma’s local culinary heritage and has historically been associated with the city’s horse butcher shops and working-class food traditions.
During the 2020s, the dish became part of a wider public debate in Italy concerning proposals to ban the slaughter of horses and other equines for human consumption.
