It’s the season for beautiful platters brimming with all our favourite flavours. Italians love a big seafood feast and how best to start it with a mouthwatering Insalata di mare! 🦐 🐙 🦐
Recipe by Silvia Colloca!
Ingredients:
- 500 gr vongole
- 2 small squid tubes
- 500 gr fresh mussels, cleaned and debearded
- 8 uncooked prawns, peeled and deveined
- 150 ml white wine
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 10–12 small ligurian olives, pitted (see note)
- thick slices of crusty bread, to serve (grilled if liked)
- halved cherry tomatoes (about 1/2 cup)
Dressing
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon white wine
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 small handful of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- salt flakes and freshly ground white pepper
Method:
1. Place a deep heavy-based frying pan over high heat, pour in the wine, then drop in the clams and mussels. Cover with a lid and allow the steam to open the shells. As they open, fish them out with a slotted spoon and set them aside in a bowl. Leave half of them in their shells for presentation. Discard any that don’t open. Reserve the poaching liquid.
2. Place the griddle pan onto the stove and heat on high. Cut the calamari tubes into 1/2 cm rings. Add the olive oil, then stir-fry the squid and prawns for 2–3 minutes each side, depending on their size. Season.
3. Arrange the squid rings and prawns on a serving dish, then spoon over the clams and mussels.
4. You will notice that the shells will have released a lovely, salty liquid. Hang on to this – it’s an important part of the dressing.
5. To make the dressing, pour the olive oil into a mixing jug, then add the wine, lemon juice, parsley, 3 tablespoons of the reserved shellfish cooking liquid and a little white pepper. Whisk together, then taste for salt and adjust if needed.
6. Liberally spoon the dressing over the warm salad, scatter over the olives and cherry tomatoes and serve with crusty bread.