SECOND COURSES DISHES
Venetian fried seafood mix
The Venetian fried seafood mix is a simple recipe with few ingredients and an authentic taste. Great for serving with a fresh glass of Cipriani Rosé to seduce even the most refined of palates.
An emblem of the Lagoon’s culinary traditions, the Venetian fried seafood mix is a dish with humble beginnings. Once consumed in the narrow Venetian streets, this dish has risen to become a gourmet excellence.
Difficulty
Easy
Prep time
30 minutes
Cooking time
10 minutes
Servings
4 people
INGREDIENTS
To prepare a perfect Venetian fried seafood mix for four people you will need:
¾ pound of calamari
1 pound of monkfish cheeks
1 ⅓ pounds of prawns
2 cups of flour, or fine breadcrumbs
Frying oil
Salt
VENETIAN FRIED SEAFODD MIX: THE RECIPE
How to prepare an exceptional fried seafood mix worthy of Venetian renown? Attention, care, and quality are the essence of this recipe the requires only a few, albeit carefully selected ingredients. Here are the simple steps to perfectly prepare a sizzling seafood mix:
Wash the fish under running water, clean and cut the squid into rings (more specific indications on how to clean fish can be found in the following paragraphs).
In a frying pan, possibly made of cast iron, or in a deep fryer, heat the oil to 350°F. Frying oil is the most suitable for frying fish as the high smoke point allows the fish to fry without the oil burning. However, if allergies are a problem, canola or grapeseed oil are ideal alternatives.
Prepare the flour in a shallow container to begin covering the calamari. Add salt to the rings and then dip them into the flour, making sure it is evenly covered and removing any excess. Repeat the procedure for the prawns and monkfish. Once perfectly battered, the fish is ready to be fried.
Place the fish into the heated oil. For best results, it is necessary to fry small quantities of fish at a time, so as to avoid the oil temperature lowering abruptly.
It will take a few minutes to reach the ideal browning point for a golden, dry, and crispy result. Remove the fish with a skimmer, draining any excess oil before transferring to plate with paper towels.
THE VENETIAN FRIED SEAFOOD MIX IS READY TO BE SERVED WITH A GLASS OF DELICATE CIPRIANI PROSECCO OR FRESH CIPRIANI ROSÉ.
VENETIAN FRIED SEAFOOD MIX: HOW TO PROPERLY CLEAN FISH
A critical moment in the preparation of any fish recipe is the cleaning the selected fish, which must first be rinsed well under running water.
For the calamari, start by removing the tentacles, followed by removing the internal cartilage and the external skin. Rinse them again quickly under running water and proceed to cut them into rings.
Prawns, on the other hand, require removing the heads with a slight twist. Next, with the help of a pair of scissors, cut the cartilage of the belly on both sides and gently extract the meat.
Finally, the monkfish cheeks: it is possible, and perhaps preferable for the less experienced, to buy this fish already cleaned by the fish vendor, and in such cases requires simply holding it under running water for a few seconds.
As Arrigo Cipriani recounts, the purchase of fish for Harry’s Bar happens early in the morning to guarantee a vast and fresh selection of fish. Trusted Cipriani personnel make their way to the local market each day to carefully select the stars of that day’s menu.
“Small fish must be very fresh; blue fish must be chosen daily. Large fish, on the other hand, are best left to dry and mature a couple of days.”
“Harry’s Bar Venezia, Le ricette della tradizione” by Arrigo Cipriani