Crudo di mare (Raw Seafood Platter)

Perhaps the most memorable meal I had in Puglia during my last trip was this exquisite celebration of the sea, a raw seafood platter styled crudo di frutti di mare, or simply crudo di mare, at the Antiche Mura restaurant in Polignano a Mare, a small seaside town just south of Bari.

What first struck me was its visual appeal—an colorful assortment of bivalves and mollusks beautifully arranged on a bed of ice. Clams, oysters, plump mussels and a pile of squid cut into thin strips the pugliesi call ‘tagliatelle’, all topped with a cute little langoustine, head and tail still on.

If anything it tasted even better than it looked. The impeccably fresh and slightly chilled seafood was refreshing and sublimely delicious. No wonder this dish is considered one of the glories of Puglian cuisine. (And unless you want to offend your Puglian friends, please don’t call it “Italian sushi”.)

It seems like a dish that scarcely needs a recipe at all, but each variety of seafood does require a bit of careful preparation so its flavor and texture are at their best. The good news is, as the name implies, there’s absolutely no cooking involved in a crudo di mare. Just the opposite, in fact, since the seafood is best served slightly chilled. So though you can enjoy it any item of year, a crudo di mare platter is especially welcome during the dog days of summer. And heaven knows the dogs are barking at the moment.

Crudo di mare is typically served as an antipasto, but if you up the measurements it could easily serve as a light no cook main course.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6 as an antipasto

• 2-3 squid or cuttlefish, cleaned, just the tubes
• 8 large red shrimp and/or langoustines
• 8 oysters
• 8 clams
• 8 mussels

For serving:

• Lemon wedges
• A lettuce leaf
• Crushed ice

Directions

Prepare the squid or cuttlefish ‘tagliatelle’

Cut the squid or cuttlefish tubes in half lengthwise, then cut each half into thin strips (not rings).

Place the strips into a small bowl. Sprinkle with a few drops of lemon juice and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Prepping the bivalves

Unless your clams and mussels are farm raised, soak them in cold, well salted water for an hour and then rinse them, before proceeding. (Don’t do this with your oysters.)

Shuck the oysters, clams and mussels, trying to avoid losing as much of their juices as possible. Leave them ‘on the half shell’. Place on a tray and refrigerate until needed. (See Notes for details.)

Prepping the shrimp

Shell the shrimp, leaving the tail on if you like. Immerse the peeled shrimp in a bowl of ice water with a few drops of fresh lemon juice and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Assembling and serving the dish

Cover the bottom of a platter large enough to hold all the seafood in a single layer with a bed of crushed ice. This keeps the seafood nicely chilled but also keeps to hold the bivalves upright.

Place the clams, mussels and oysters all around the edges of the dish.

Then place a lettuce leaf or two in the middle of the platter. Lay top the squid/cuttlefish ‘tagliatelle’ on top.

Finally, arrange the shrimp in a decorative pattern around the tagliatelle, with one unshelled shrimp on top for decoration.

Serve immediately with lemon wedges.

Notes on crudo di mare

Needless the say, impeccable freshness is key to a successful crudo di mare, both for flavor and texture and for safety’s sake. That said, your mollusks can be frozen—and in fact, it’s not a bad idea as this practically guarantees your seafood will be free of any nasty parasites. (See disclaimer below.)

The precise choice of seafood is up to you. In Puglia, they have a large variety of seafood that can go into a crudo in different combinations. At Antiche Mura, their crudo di mare included shrimp, scampi, oysters, mussels, squid tagliatelle and noce aka tartufo, a kind of local clam-like bivalve.

Squid and cuttlefish

Near me I can find pre-cleaned squid and (at Asian supermarkets) cuttlefish, both fresh or frozen, Sometimes it’s the whole animal, in which case you just trim off the tentacles and save them for another use, and sometime just the tubes, which just need cutting into strips. They’re an excellent option if you can find them.

If you are using whole squid or cuttlefish that haven’t been pre-cleaned, remove the head from the tentacles, then skin the tube-liked head and remove the innards (including the cuttlebone and ink sac) and the hard beak. If you pierce the ink sac, rinse the squid thoroughly. For more details, see this useful article.

Clams, mussels and oysters

Look for smallish clams if you can. Here in the US, littlenecks, cherrystones or Manilas are what you want to look for. Or if you’re in New England, some of the smaller quahogs. Razor clams, if you can find them, are also very nice. As for clams, just about any type will do, but they should ideally be plump and meaty. Unfortunately most of the mussels I’ve bought lately have been disappointing for some reason, with barely any meat inside.

If you are dealing wth farm-raised clams and mussels, you can just shuck them as is. Otherwise, it’s a good precaution to soak them in well salted water for an hour or so to purge them of any sand. Be sure to salt the water well, about 100g (1/3 cup) for each 4 liters (1 gallon) of water. Fresh water will kill them. There’s no need to do this with your oysters.

Shucking

All the bivalves need to be shucked. Where I live, you can easily get your fish monger to shuck oysters for you (at an extra cost) but clams and oysters, not so much. Luckily, shucking bivalves isn’t actually very hard. You do need to proper shucking knife with a durable blade. Don’t try using a regular knife as you’ll likely break your blade! You’ll also need some shucking gloves or a towel to protect your hands.

Once you’re properly equipped, it’s just a matter of prying the shells open. Slip the blade between the top and bottom shells at the joint, then press inwards and turn the blade to separate them.

You can simply pry oyster shells apart. There will be a concave shell, which is where the flesh is, while the other shell will be flat. Remove the flat shell. For mussels and clams, you’ll need insert the blade to cut the abductor muscle inside the shell, which holds the two shells together. In clams, the muscle is right at the “joint” where the two shells come together, while for mussels it’s actually in the middle of the shell, so you’ll need to slide your knife down the length of the mussel. Remove one shell completely, leaving the flesh inside the other shell.

Once you’ve opened your bivalves, slip your knife along the bottom of the shell to loosen the flesh. Try to make sure you keep the shell perfectly horizontal so those delicious juices don’t drip out. Place aside, preferably on ice, until needed.

The operation actually sounds more complicated in writing than it actually is. There’s no shortage of demos on YouTube if you want to see how (relatively) straightforward it is. And once I’m up and running with video, I plan to post some demos on my Substack.

Shrimp and other crustaceans

In Puglia you’d use Adriatic scampi, which are essentially langoustines, and/or red shrimp, which have a delicate taste and lovely coral red veining even when raw. In a pinch, you could use regular shrimp but of course they won’‘t be nearly as pretty. If you can find them, the lovely sweet red shrimp called ama ebi, used in sushi and sashimi, if a delicious if unorthodox choice.

Variations

For me the best way to serve crudo di mare is just as is, or with some lemon wedges as pictured. But some folks will add olive oil, either on the side or drizzled on top before serving. And yet others will accompany their crudo di mare with a herb dressing with olive oil. lemon juice, minced parsley and a pinch of salt.

Other seafood that often figures in a crudo di mare include octopus and sea urchin. Octopus need tenderizing, which you traditionally do by banging the animal against rocks. An easier method for home cooks is freezing, which will break down its muscle fibers. Slice it very thin. You typically serve sea urchin in its shell, but open on top. Here in the US, however, sea urchin is typically sold in trays, sans shell, for sushi.

A classic barese crudo includes frutti di mare, but at Antiche Mura I also had—served separately—a lovely raw fish, I think probably a small marinella (gunard) though I can’t recall, served with head and tail as garnish, with the thinly sliced fresh in the middle.

Tuna and swordfish are also lovely served as part of a mixed crudo di mare, chilled of course and thinly sliced. And while not very pugliese, salmon is also delicious.

Disclaimer

Eating any kind of seafood raw involves some, albeit small, degree of risk. I’ve been eating raw seafood all my life and have never had a problem. But at the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide what risks you want to take.

When it comes to fish look for ‘sushi grade’ fish at a trusted local fish monger. To be 100% safe from parasites, you can freeze your fish, as well as cephalopods, for 7 days. Though in fact, much “fresh’ fish you buy today has been frozen, but you can’t always be sure. If in doubt, you can ask. Or, of course, just buy it frozen.

When it comes to clams, oysters and mussels, there’s really nothing you can do other than be sure of your provider. And of course, smell your product—it should have a “clean” small or very little fishiness. Discard any that are open before you shuck them.