Crudo once again was born of having the most amazingly fresh fish available right at your doorstep everyday. In Puglia, its the Adriatic sea. Kids in Puglia grow up eating fish that most adults here would never touch or recognize and in many instances they are eating it raw! Ricci di Mare is sea urchin. They are everywhere in Puglia and make one of my favorite crudos and pastas. Spaghetti Ricci is an amazing dish. Ricci Di Mare as crudo you just go raw and eat it, some will splash lemon on it but others call that sacrilege. In Spaghetti Ricci simply cook your pasta al dente and then toss with butter and/or EVOO and toss while it is still hot with a generous amount of Ricci. I like to use a lil’ sea salt as well and if I’m really feeling crazy a lil’ fresh parsley. NO CHEESE AT ALL! Doesn’t work folks! And neither does GARLIC!
There are so many amazing Pugliese dishes to discuss. Let’s talk about a real Classic: Fava e cicoria, which consists of dried fava bean puree and bitter greens. It’s simple and amazing. We sell it here at Frank Restaurant in NYC and its a huge crowd pleaser.
Ingredients are: dried peeled fava beans, smashed garlic, EVOO in abundance and dandelion or similar bitter greens. Real Cicoria is unavailable here. Italian cicoria I have never seen in our markets, it is even tough to find at times in Italy depending on when you are looking. The method on fava is simple: abundant EVOO in a pot, add smashed garlic, very lightly toasted, add soaked fava sautéed and water and cook till tender. Add just enough water to cover the fava in the pot and watch it very closely on low heat till the fava is soft. Then puree 1/3 of it and mix sea salt to taste and stir in more EVOO. The greens you braise in olive oil garlic and water till tender mix the greens in or serve on top Often Fava e cicoria is served with a variety of vegetables. At Frank restaurant we do with dandelion in puree and oven roasted fennel, broccoli, green beans. It’s a great dish for both summer and winter because it can also be served at room temperature!
Tags: fava e cicoria, pugliese