Scallop Crudo #ItalianFTW

Our Italian Food, Travel and Wine group are celebrating Spring this month with Verdicchio wine.  This event is being hosted by my friend Cam, of Culinary Adventures with Camilla.  You can read her invitation post here.

I was pretty excited a few weeks ago when I discovered a wine store only 20-30 minutes from my home that carries a great selection and will order up anything that they don't have in stock.

This is certainly much better than the alternative of 1 hr. each way to the wine store I was using and, not being strictly wines but an International Marketplace, wasn't conducive to special orders.

They did not have any Verdicchio on the shelves but he wrote down the varietal I needed and said he would contact his provider and find the best bottle he could in the price range I wanted, less than $30.

He provided me with this bottle of 2014 Verdicchio dei Cestelli di Jesi by Marchetti Vineyards.  I paid less than $20 for this wine.  My new friend, Gassan, owner of Keg & Kone also ordered a bottle for himself so that he could try it.  I'm anxious for my next visit with him so that we can compare notes.

Verde means green and some Verdicchio have green undertones.  Mine was more golden but did have a "grassy" taste to it so I guess that could account for the "green".  This wine was wonderful.

Grass and citrus undertones and a crisp bright finish.  

The website linked above provides information that this is a small bottling, only 900 cases.  The grapes are grown in clay, limestone and sand.  It is 100% verdicchio grapes that are free run juice meaning no pressing is used for this wine that is aged in the bottle for 4 months before sale.

Further investigation as to food and wine pairings with the Verdicchio varietal showed many suggestions for seafood of all sorts, including Sashimi.  I decided that an Italian wine deserved to be paired with an Italian dish.  The Italian version of raw seafood is called Crudo.

However, the recipe I used came from Marcus Samuelsson.  You probably know Samuelsson from television and cookbooks.  I got to know him a little bit better when his memoirs, Yes Chef, was assigned reading for our Cook the Books Club.

While Samuelsson was born and orphaned in Ethiiopia and adopted and raised in Sweden his culinary training took place in Europe, including Italy.

The pairing was absolutely perfect, in my humble opinion.  The crispness of the wine played off the "buttery" texture of the scallops.  And the scallops themselves?  In 10 minutes time, I had an impressive and delicious first course for our Easter dinner.  I allowed one scallop, sliced into 3 pieces, for each person at the table.  

Not everyone chose to partake of the scallops and they were still all eaten and enjoyed by the time the soup course came to the table.

You will find links to the others pairings with this wonderful wine following my recipe.  We will also be getting together on Twitter to discuss our pairings at 11 AM ET today. You will find us by following #ItalianFTW.  See you then!!

Scallop Crudo

adapted from  Marcus Samuelsson

6 large Sea Scallops

Juice of one orange

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

pinch of salt

2 sprigs of dill

thinly sliced red bell pepper

extra virgin olive oil

Slice the scallops into 3 even pieces, crosswise.  Combine the orange juice, lemon juice  and salt in a small bowl.  Ladle a couple of tablespoons of the juice mixture onto a serving platter.  Arrange the scallops over the juice on the platter.  Top with remaining juice, drizzle with olive oil and garnish with the dill and pepper.  Serve immediately.  Print Recipe

Let's join the others and see what they are sharing

• Jeff at FoodWineClick! gives us a A Wine Pairing Lesson with Verdicchio.
• Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla pours Bisci Verdicchio di Matelica with a Panzanella di Primavera.
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm serves up Scallop Crudo with Verdicchio.
• Katarina at Grapevine Adventures offers a Multinational Spring Lunch with Verdicchio.
• Jane at Always Ravenous shares Verdicchio Paired with the Flavors of Spring.
• Nicole at Somm's Table posts Cooking to the Wine: Azienda Santa Barbara Verdicchio and Tuna Melts.
• Lauren at The Swirling Dervish pairs Verdicchio and Roasted Vegetables: A Match Made in Heaven.
• Lynn at Savor the Harvest has A Spring Date With Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi.
• Susannah of Avvinare listens as Verdicchio Sings of Spring.
• Jennifer of Vino Travels shares Verdicchio of the Marche with Tenuta di Tavignano.

Salmon Tartare on Crostini #FishFridayFoodies

Welcome to this month's edition of Fish Friday Foodies, hosted by Cam of Culinary Adventures of Camilla.  Cam chose the theme Raw Fish for this month asking us to share our favorite ways to eat fish raw.  She mentioned poke, seviche and tartare.  I immediately thought of Japanese because I love sushi and sashimi.  But I was intrigued by Cam's mention of tartare. I had never heard of tartare using fish.  I had only ever enjoyed it using beef.

The recipe I found for Salmon Tartare from Bon Appetit sounded wonderful so I decided I would give it a try.  I adapted the recipe very slightly and I served it with Crostini.  I did make it ahead of time and refrigerate it so it may be more of a seviche than a tartare.  Whatever you call it....it was incredible!!!

The best part is that it is so easy, peasy to make and so impressive to serve.  It only takes a few minutes to throw together so you could certainly serve it right away.  I was having a dinner party and like to be prepared ahead of time so I made it and let it chill for a few hours before serving.

You do need to plan ahead a bit because you want to put your salmon in the freezer for about 20 minutes so that it is easy to slice.  After 20 minutes slice the salmon into pieces about 1/8" thick.  Cut each slice into 1/8" thick strips and then cut each strip into 1/8" thick dice.

Then it is simply mixing together the remaining ingredients and adding the salmon to the marinated vegetables.

That's it!  Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.  This was part of an appetizer table at a dinner party I hosted and it was the first to go.  

Salmon Tartare

adapted from Bon Appetit

1 (8 oz) filet, sushi grade salmon

1/4 c. finely diced English cucumber

juice and zest of 1/2 a lime

1 1/2 t. minced cilantro

1 1/2 t. canola oil

1 1/2 t. minced, seeded jalapeno

1 1/2 t. minced shallot

1/2 t. minced ginger

1/2 t. sesame oil

freshly ground sea salt and pepper to taste

Place the salmon filet in the freezer for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile combine the cucumber, lime juice, lime zest, cilantro, canola oil, jalapeno, shallot, ginger, sesame oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Remove filet from freezer and cut into 1/8" slices.  You should get 5 or 6 slices.  Discard the skin. Cut each slice into 1/8" strips.  Stack the strips and cut  into 1/8" dice.  Add to the vegetables and toss to coat the salmon with the dressing.

Place into a serving bowl and serve with a side of Crostini.  

To make crostini, cut a baguette into thin slices.  Place on a cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 350* oven for 15 minutes. Flip over and bake another 12-15 minutes until toasted and brown. Print Recipe

More Raw Fish Recipes

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