Italian seafood salad recipe

One of my favourite antipasto/ appetizer is Italian Seafood Salad. Sometimes I think the perfect supper would be just 3 or 4 amazing appetizers with a side of wonderful  whole whead bread.

Ingridients

• 1¼ cups (250 grams) cleaned calamari or squid or both 
• 1¼ cups (250 grams) cleaned octopus 
• 1½ cups (100 grams) mussels (without the shell)
• 1¾ cups (200 grams) small shrimp cleaned 
• 1 stalk celery chopped finely -optional
• ¼ cup (8 grams)  parsley chopped - optional
• ¼ cup (56 grams) extra vingin olive oil
• juice from ½ lemon
• salt and pepper

In a large pot of boiling water, boil for approximately 55-60 minutes the calamari, squid. In other pot put octopus, it requires a much longer cooking time, so if you choose to include it, you will need to add an additional hour or so to your preparation time. Remove them and boil mussels and shrimps for about 10 minutes. If you have mussels with shell - bring 1/2 cup of water to a boil in the same saucepan and toss in the mussels. Return to a boil, cover, and steam for 3 to 5 minutes, until they're all opened. (Discard any that remain unopened after 5 minutes.) Remove the mussels from the shells and discard the shells.

Drain all ingridients in the medium-sized bowl a second time just to remove excess liquid and let cool. 

After 30 minutes cut calamari, octopus and squid, put shrimps and mussels. 

Add chopped celery and parsley , olive oil and lemon juice. Gently mix to combine well.

Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours to let the flavours to mix well.

Before serving add extra virgin olive oil, pepper and salt if necessary,

Classical recipe we cook at home is without mussels. And from time to time we cook it without celery and parsley too just because we don't have them at home)

It's very important to have fery fresh ingridients and we never use frozen ingridients for this salad, freezing change the taste, be sure.

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Rice, potatoes and mussels - Riso, patate e cozze

Yes, this plate is called very simple - Rice, potatoes and mussels. It has a short name too - tajeddha - with an indescribable accent on last "DDHA", like somewhere there "r" is hidden, but this name is in dialect))  In other dialect it's called teglia

So it is very tasty, I can't say that it is very simple to cook, but in general, it's a simple enough and it is typical plate of Salento, where I'm living. Salento - this is the south of the Puglia region, the heel of italian shoe) Here indescribably mixed traditions since ancient time of Romans and Greeks, left their trace Messapi, we are not talking about Turks ... Well, in general, it's the pot of cultures. That, of course, has left its mark in cousine too. 

Tajeddha has to be cooked in the oven or better in the wood oven. We cook it in the oven at the beach house. 

At this time, I disn't cook it - because I had to made photography, so the recipe is not my original. The difference I will explain too. There are many different recipes, each women has it's own) Some women add even sliced ​​zucchini. 

You will need (honestly, never know exact proportions, because we always prepare  tajeddha for 20 people). 

• potatoes, 
• Arborio rice (better not parboiled ) 
• onion, 
• cherry tomatoes 
• mussels, 
• parsley, 
• grated cheese (which is available - Parmesan, Grana Padano, or similar), 
• Pepper, salt and olive oil 
• garlic (in my recipe) 

Nuance about mussels - we order the mussels already opened, but if you have them closed, throw them for a minute in the pan with a little of water and they will open. Remove one half. Water do not throw out - you will need it. 

Peel the potatoes and cut it into thin slices or semi-round, if potatoe is big. 

Mix it in a bowl with grated cheese 

finely chop the parsley

Mix it with the potatoes and season with a little olive oil, pepper and chop a few tomatoes. Leave on for half an hour. 

I my recipe: I mix the potatoes with sliced ​​garlic, olive oil, tomatoes - put more tomatoes than on the photo - and quite a bit of parsley and a little salt. I add a little water to make broth, which we then use too. 

Cut the onion into thin half-rings 

Put it in water

Thus, we begin to prepare the form for oven. Grease the bottom with the olive oil and put a thin layer of the onion. 

Then a thin layer of potatoes

Then mussels

Sprinkle the rice. It is important to cover the mussels with rice. I prefer to use normal rice for risotto, not parboiled rice - because it better absorbs the taste of food. Parboiled rice is better as a simple garniture. But the women who cooked prefeir parboiled. 

Then, in the same order put all the second time, without onion. Finish with potatoes on the top and cover with cheese. Pour salted water or water from the mussels till the level of potatoes. 

Cook on 200 degrees for about 45 minutes - 1 hour, see by yourself when potatoes are cooked. 

That's what we've got) 

Cozze gratinate - Mussels au gratin

Mussels au gratin  are one of the most classic summer recipes of south Italy. It's really simple and quick to prepare and have the perfect recipe for a tasty dinner with fish.

1 Kg of mussels (I recommend especially the variety called mussels of Taranto, small but very fragrant and tasty)
2 cloves of garlic 
1 bunch of parsley
4-5 tablespoons bread crumbs or better fresh white bread
Milk
2-3 tablespoons  of olive oil
5-6 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
1/2 glass of water mussel
pepper


Usually we ask to clean and open mussels in fish shop. But if you don’t have this possibility you should clean the mussels by removing the beard and scraping the outside. Then open them. For more easy opening place the mussels in a pan, cover with a lid and leave until the shells open not (1-3 minutes). You should not cook them – only open. Strain the cooking liquid and keep aside.
When the mussels are open, remove the empty half shells, put those with shellfish in a baking dish side by side each other.

If you use bread crumbs – mix it with grated parmesan. 
Mince the garlic and parsley and mix them with olive oil. 

Put over mussels then put bread crumbs with grated parmesan.

Pour a little of milk and cooking liquid (that mussels will not be dry but rich). 

You can also mix them before and then cover each mussel with a teaspoon of mixture to completely cover the fruit. Put again crumbs with grated parmesan. Then put pepper.


If you use fresh bread – take pulp of the bread, mix well it with milk, olive oil and cooking liquid. Then push pulp. Mix with minced garlic and parsley. Cover each mussel with a teaspoon of mixture to completely cover the fruit.  Then dredge with bread crumbs and grated parmesan. Put pepper.


We forgot to buy fresh bread so on my photos you see recipe with bread crumbs, but usually we make with fresh bread pulp.


Preheat your oven to 380-395 F (200 C) . I switch on for beginning all oven then only bottom part so mussels are cooked well but not burned from above. Cook for about 10-15 minutes. They must have a nice golden color.
If you can cook mussels in wood stove they will be so tasty that you never taste before!

Buon appetito!

Italian seafood soup

As I promiced in my sunday post today I write about Zuppa di pesce - Fish soup or Italian Seafood soup. It's famouse plate of South Italy. It's easy to cook but need many ingridients.

I made these photos when we cooked Zuppa for ten persons, so, you can see many ingredients and full pan of seafood. 

For cooking Zuppa for two persons you would need:

100 ml/ 3,5 fl. Oz. - extra virgin olive oil (di oliva),
3-4 garlic cloves,
0,5 kg/17.6 oz. tomatoes
2 scampi (wild shrimps)
6 shrimps
1 small cuttlefish
10-12 black mussels (better to use the type called mussels Taranto)
15-20 clams
2 fasolari (Callista chione)

One small goosefish
One-two different small rock-fish that have intense flavor 

It's important that fish is very fresh! All mussels, clams and fasolari must be alive. Ask to control clams at the fishmarket - it can contain sand. In this case one clam will damages all plate. Crustaceans must be also very fresh. Do not use the crustaceans that have the flesh is very soft, greenish-gray.

If you use bake ware the flavor will be more intense.
Recipe:
Put some oil in pan. Fry garlic a little. Then put fish, and sliced cuttlefish and tomatoes. (You can put also some seafood - in this case you will need to remove it from pan together with fish)

The trick that fish must always be bathed in broth or sause. You don't need to salt because the sea fish is lready quite salty.
Remove fish from the pan after 10-15 minutes. Put all seafood in the pan. Add some chopped parsley. Stew it about 15 minutes. 

If a broth is insufficient consistency, pour a little bit of water with salt.
After 15 minutes put the fish back to the broth. 
Boil it for 1-2 minutes.

At the same time toast 3-4 pieces of bread.

Put in the plate Zuppa for serving along with toasted bread.

Buon apetito!

Sunday by the Ionian Sea

Today was wonderful day, warm and sunny. That’s why we decided to go to the Ionian sea (Brindisi is near Adriatic sea). It's about 40 minutes from Brindisi. 

Water was splendid and turquoise. It’s not cold already and I wet my feet. Sand was hot and gold. We passed 2 hours at the beach walking and reading. Of course I have done what I prefere at the beach – gathering of the shells.  And of course I payed for this my a little burned shoulders) I don't know where I will use these sheel but I like them very much!

In the evening we gone in the other town, Porto Cesareo, for walking and looking the sunset.

This town is very famous for fishermans and there are many fish markets. We bought many kind of small fish and the sea food to do wonderful “Zuppa di pesce” – Fish soup. This is very particular plate of our region. Today I show you some photos made in fish markets and next week I will post recipe for this famouse plate of South Italy. 

The sign of one fish market:

Sword-fish:

Tunnies (tunas) and other fish:

Differernt fish:

Mussels:

Riсe, potatoes and mussels

Today I'll write how to cook one of the best dish of Salento cuisine. Salento is a region in the south of Italy. It’s famous for his beaches and cuisine. The meal is named “Riso patate e cozze” – rice potatoes and mussels.

So you'll need:
2 kg (4.4 lb) of potatoes
1 kg (2.2 lb) of fresh opened mussels (if they are not opened you’ll need 2 kg – 4.4 lb)
0.3 kg (0.66 lb) of rice
One onion
1 kg (2.2 lb) of tomatoes
Couple cloves of garlic
250 gr (0.55 lb) of grated Parmigiano - Parmesan cheese
Parsley
Breadcrumbs
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Ground black pepper
Salt


In a small container slosh the rice with the water and leave it.

Peel potatoes. Cut potatoes into thin slices.
Cut tomatoes to small pieces. Clean garlic cloves. Cut the onion vertically into thin slices.

Cut some parsley.

Put all ingredients in the big pot. Dredge grated Parmesan.

Then pour the oil. Put salt and pepper. Top up little water and mix it well. Leave it for half an hour.
Get a frying pan enough deep. We got the frying earthen pan, because we will cook in the stone oven. Remove the garlic from the pot. Pour a little oil in the pan. Put a layer of potatoes on the bottom of the pan.

Then put the layer of mussels.


Dredge the rice.

Put a little of cutted parsley.

Put salt and pepper.


Dredge grated Parmesan.

Put remaining potatoes. Carefully pour in the pan all the liquid from the pot with potatoes. If the water does not reach the level of potatoes, add the water. If you don’t do this, the rice quickly absorbs all the water and the dish will be dry. If you pour too much water, the rice absorbs not all the water.
Dredge Parmesan.

Pepper it and dredge breadcrumbs.

Pour some oil on the top.

If you cook at home, heat the oven to 250 degrees. Put the pan in the bottom of the oven. When the potatoes seem cooked - the dish is ready. Put the pan in the top of the oven. Turn in the oven grill for some minutes for delicious golden crust. When you take out the pan from the oven, leave it for 10-15 minutes. It will be more flavourful.

Enjoy the cuisine of Salento!