Generality
For seafood salad "generically" means a dish based on molluscs, crustaceans, sometimes fish and - based on tastes - vegetables and aromatic herbs. Usually, seafood salad is seasoned with lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, white pepper and salt.
There are many recipes and variations of seafood salads, but they all have in common for using the cooking method with water (cold or hot) or steam (traditional or in a pressure cooker). Like most mixed preparations, seafood salad should also be structured according to the seasonal raw materials available (see the in-depth analysis of fresh seasonal fish). It is true that, thanks to the possibility of freezing foodstuffs (local or foreign), it is not particularly difficult to find the various fishery products in all seasons of the year. However, the organoleptic and gustatory difference between a seafood salad produced with fresh ingredients and another made from frozen food is almost always of great importance.
Cephalopod molluscs
Seafood salad is often interpreted as a mixture of cephalopod molluscs. These, which actually represent the main basis of the recipe, can consist of: octopus and / or cuttlefish and / or squid and / or squid and / or octopus, in equal or different proportions.
The processing of cephalopod molluscs is the most difficult operation of the recipe; these require rather delicate cleaning and cooking, to be carried out exclusively separately. As far as cleaning is concerned, this should be done by depriving them of the skin, eyes, mouth and viscera (raw or cooked, depending on the specific food). With regard to the cuttlefish, for example, it is necessary to pay particular attention to NOT breaking the ink bag, which, coming into contact with the white meats, could inevitably stain the food. As for the octopus, on the other hand, it should be remembered that it is a rather difficult animal to cook; this statement is justified by the fact that both an excess and a defect of the treatment (and the absence of hanging) could cause an excessive hardness or rubberiness of the pulp; also the choice to leave or remove the suction cups from the tentacles represents a subjectively interpreted variable. Squids, squid and dormice show less difficulty in handling.
Of the cephalopod molluscs used in seafood salad it is also possible to use only a part of it (for example only the cuttlefish body and not the head). Let us once again remember that cooking times are quite different between one species and another, which is why they must be packaged in an absolutely separate manner.
Bivalve molluscs
In the seafood salad bivalve molluscs (or lamellibranchs) are also frequently used. Among these stand out: mussels (or mussels), clams, oysters, scallops, razor clams, sea truffles and fasolari. NB : for reasons of environmental protection, sea dates are no longer a product of commercially available fisheries.
Some of these molluscs require a cleaning procedure that starts with raw food (mussels, fasolari, capesante, razor clams, etc.); others, if well purged, can be directly cooked (clams, sea truffles, etc.). The preferred cooking to be applied to these ingredients is certainly "steam", but the simplicity of execution must not lead to error; cooking must be sufficient only to make them open and reach a healthy temperature. These can be shelled or left whole.
Gastropod molluscs
How not to mention the famous sea snails and the like. Not everyone uses these ingredients in the seafood salad formulation, perhaps due to lack of knowledge. The gastropods to use are mainly: the murici, the rapari and the sea ears. They too must be carefully washed and boiled (or steamed), then cleaned (the rapars, for example, need the removal of the intestine) and cut.
Crustaceans
With regard to the crustaceans used for seafood salad, a separate chapter could be opened. Shrimp and prawn shrimps usually appear in seafood salads. However, some more expensive versions of the dish may include scampi, lobster or lobster, or spider crab or sea cicada. Rarely are crabs (real, blue of the Atlantic Ocean) used, while in some areas shrimp are often considered. The big difficulty in using shellfish is that they often require excessive costs and labor. Except for the Atlantic blue real crabs (mainly sold frozen and cleaned, divided into 4), which only require cooking, the others (lobsters, scampi, lobsters, spider crabs, cicadas and squills) need: heat treatment, deprivation of the carapace and / or pulp extraction. For this reason, in addition to the poor yield of the most expensive, many crustaceans go to make preparations in their own right rather than the seafood salad.
Seafood Salad - Recipe
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Fish are also rarely used for the formulation of seafood salad. Probably, this derives above all from the fact that this recipe is used in large part by consumers who do NOT like to fish. It is really a pity; starting from ingredients with a very strong taste (such as marinated anchovies, smoked mackerel in oil, buzzonaglia etc.), up to extremely delicate products (such as the monkfish, the musdea, the hake, the red snapper, the sea bream, sea bass etc.), of fish for seafood salad there really is something for everyone (and without thorns). As far as the first ones are concerned, these are ingredients already processed that do not need any treatment; the latter, on the other hand, require cleaning (which varies according to the raw material chosen: whole or pre-processed) and simple steaming or boiling water.
Other fishery products
Then there are some "niche" ingredients for seafood salad. These are mainly the eggs of sea urchins, fish eggs (for example of flying fish) and some fish offal; among these, the gonads of the cuttlefish (vulgarly called cuttlefish eggs) are undoubtedly more successful, but some also have liver and tripe.
The use of surimi is also widespread, especially in low-quality commercial or catering preparations.
Ingredients
Even in this case one could write a great deal; without doubt, the most successful CRUDI products for seafood salad are: parsley (to be considered an aromatic herb but present in quantities above the average of the recipes), cherry tomatoes, celery, carrots, rocket, white onion and peppers. Those COTTI, instead, are: black and green olives, artichoke hearts or artichokes and potatoes. Without wanting to criticize the choice of one or the other vegetable, I simply remember that, by mixing the seafood salad, the potato cubes flake off and tend to mix the preparation giving it a decidedly unpleasant appearance. At the same time, even Pachino tomatoes tend to empty "diluting" and dirtying all the other ingredients. Better to add them just before serving.
In certain recipes of seafood salad "more particular" also include certain diced fruits such as: citrus fruits, apples, pears, avocados, etc.
Condiments
The seafood salad should be seasoned to taste, but in general you prefer: delicate extra virgin olive oil, salt (a little), white pepper (very little), garlic (or rather, garlic juice), lemon juice and herbs aromatic (in surplus or as a substitute for parsley) such as basil, fennel, dill, tarragon, etc. Some operators simplify everything with a simple "citronette" and a sprinkling of frozen parsley, but I personally think that the seafood salad should be seasoned differently based on the ingredients that structure it.
The preparation time of seafood salad is around 2.5 hours, although the availability of certain instruments (such as pressure cookers and blast chillers) can even halve them. Rather than using frozen ingredients, it is advisable to process fresh ingredients and, at the very least, freeze portions of sea salad NOT seasoned and without vegetables, to regenerate and finish at the time of consumption.
Nutritional characteristics
It is quite deducible that, given the heterogeneity of the various formulas, delineating an evaluation of the nutritional composition of seafood salad is not a simple undertaking.
In broad terms, it is possible to state that it is a moderately energetic food and also suitable for feeding against overweight. The predominant energetic macronutrients are proteins (with a high biological value), while the quantity of fat varies mainly on the basis of the presence of olives or oil or avocado. Carbohydrates, which are usually rather lacking, can increase due to the addition of diced potatoes (starch) and vegetables or fruits (fructose).
Even the fibers are rather deficient and their quantity varies based on the plants used. Unfortunately, the cholesterol level is not among the lowest of the various fish-based recipes; some molluscs (bivalves), but also crustaceans and eggs or offal, contribute to raising the levels of this lipid, which becomes harmful if excess in the diet. Therefore, seafood salad can be used in the context of a diet against hyperlipemias only by carefully choosing the ingredients.
As for vitamins and antioxidants, assuming the preparation of the richest, these should be present "almost all" in more than satisfactory doses. The same applies to mineral salts, stating that, due to the presence of certain foods, seafood salad contains a decidedly appreciable amount of iron, calcium and potassium.
The use of seafood salad is not recommended in case of: pregnancy, breastfeeding, early childhood and overt food allergies.
As regards the hygienic aspects of seafood salad, I suggest to consult the specific articles of the various ingredients used (eg mussels, crustaceans, octopus, cuttlefish, clams, sea snails, anchovies etc.).
