The holidays are synonymous with tables laden with fine ingredients from both land and sea, such as fish, shellfish and crustaceans. These include the purple shrimp of Sanremo, exquisite crustaceans from Liguria that are the protagonists of the dish that Chef Michelangelo Mammoliti, the executive chef of the La Rei Natura by Michelangelo Mammoliti restaurant located inside the Boscareto Resort & Spa in Serralunga d’Alba in the province of Cuneo, proposes for the season of Christmas – Salamoia.
It is a dish inspired by a childhood memory. The chef’s grandfather, a restaurateur, used to tell a very young Michelangelo that they would have “boiled potatoes and salted olives” for dinner. The flavor of the characteristic preservation of olive – brine – has been used in this dish to accompany and complement a sweet ingredient that is far more noble than potatoes – purple shrimp from San Remo.
A disc of raw crustaceans cut in half and seasoned with extra virgin olive oil gran cru Oneglia, Maldon salt and black caraway and a coulis of heads, served in a sauce pan, is prepared with them, as is the taggiasca olive brine diluted with water. The recipe is completed with small pink shrimp in tempura.
Ingredients for Chef Mammoliti’s Perfect Seafood Recipe
For the shrimps
For the shrimp head coulis
For the tempura shrimp
Serving Instructions
Procedure
For the shrimps
Clean the shrimp, keeping the heads. Cut them in half. Dress with gran cru Oneglia oil and Maldon salt.
For the shrimp head coulis
Clean the shrimp heads, removing the eyes. Toast them in a pan with evo oil. Blend in a pitcher with the sparkling water, lime juice and salt. Strain the mixture through a chinois.
For the tempura shrimp
Dip whole shrimp in tempura flour. Fry just before serving.
Serving Instructions
In a soup plate, arrange the purple San Remo shrimp cut in half, forming a disc. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, Maldon salt, mortar-pounded caraway and decorate with basil and flowers. Add freshly fried shrimp. Serve with two sauce boats, one with the brine diluted in equal parts with water and seasoned with extra virgin olive oil and one with the shrimp head coulis.