Antipasto Misto, the most common appetizer, often served in the middle of the table, for people to share. mixed cold cuts plate, Prosciutto Crudo, in this case @sandanieledop but you can add anyone like Culatello, Coppa, Capicollo, Salame, Pancetta, Schiacciata and many others to choose from. Often served with marinated olives, pickled veggies, Sun Dried tomatoes and aged firm cheese in this case aged @formaggiomontasio & Piave @lattebusche. Other versions might include a side of Mozzarella Caprese style, Burrata or Stracchino with olive oil. Serve with typical Pagnotta bread or Altamura Bread, previously preheated and sliced.
Insalata di Polpo, (Octopus Salad), You have the choice of buying the Octopus frozen, or Already cooked. If you are to work with the frozen one, you have to unfroze and boil it for 45-50′ depending on the size, or until tender. ad 1/2 cup of white vinegar to the boiling water, do not use salt. Once cooked let it cool down, add diced boiled Potatoes, Celery, Parsley and Basil, Olive oil, Salt & Pepper to taste and Smoked Hungarian or Spanish Spicy Paprika to taste.
Antipasto di Pesce Alla Veneta (Seafood Antipasto Venetian Style) There are many different versions, depending on the availability, usually composed by 6 different dishes:
Peoci allo zafferano (Mussels in a creme white wine saffron sauce with shallots).
Scampi alla Busara con Polenta (Scampi with spicy Tomato sauce, on top of Polenta),
Capesante al forno (Broiled On-shell Scallops) with garlic butter, extra virgin olive oil and bread crumbs, then broiled for 3-4 min.
Baccalà Mantecato Aglio e Prezzemolo ( Codfish Paste with garlic and parsley) we recommend you used dry salted cod fish, you need to change the water 3-4 times, every hours. Once ready, boil for 3-4 min, let is cool down and put in a mixer with Garlic, Parsley, and a touch of heavy cream, to create a paste.
Insalata di Polpo (Octopus Salad) Recipe bove.
Gransoporo al Rosmarino (Stone Crab in a butter rosemary sauce) just saute previously cracked claws in butter and romeray, schezuan pepper for couple of minutes and serve.
Tartare di Salmone, Salmon Tartare, we need fresh 250 gr Wild Atlantic Salmon, 2 Meyer Lemons, 1 thinly minced shallot, 2 tablespoon of capers, 2 tablespoons of thinly cut Chives, Black white Sesame seeds, Salt, Pepper and a spoon of Sour Cream to tide up all together. Use the juice of one lemon and use the other one to shave some peel into the mix. Let marinate for one hour before serving. Enjoy with Sliced and toasted french baguette.
Pepata di Vongole, Prosecco e Panna Clams in a creamy prosecco sauce, buy fresh or frozen clams the ideal ones are called Vongole, since they are tender and meaty inside, In a pan, fry with half butter and half Extra virgin Olive oil one Scallion thinly sliced, some sun dried tomatoes, and 3-4 cloves of garlic, and some crashed dry peperoncino, salt and Generous amount of pepper. Add prosecco and let evaporate the alcohol, then add heavy cream and add the clams, cook until clams are open, add fresh parsley. Serve with some Toasted Sliced french baguette, you want to deep it into the sauce. You can always thicken the sauce by adding some cornstarch dissolved into some water, let it cook for additional couple of minutes before adding the clams.
Anelli di Totano Fritti alla Birra, Calamari Rings, in a beer bather with Sriracha Mayo. Purchase 2 Large Fresh Calamari, ask for it clean and cut. Make sure your Calamari is not cold from the fridge, let it rest for 10 min, season with Salt and Szechuan Pepper and deep into the bather composed by half Weet flower and half Rice flower, add a blonde beer, lager type, deep fry until bather browns. For the Mayo, just mix Sriracha or Harissa Sauce with Mayo. But you can also substitute or add ginger, Tahine, sesame oil, wasabi or horseradish. If you want to go simpler, replace the beer by some ice cold water, to get a more Tempura style texture.
Tataki di Tonno Al Sesamo e Pistacchi, Tuna Tataki with Sesame and Pistachio, wee need a fresh when possible, Tuna filet, season it with salt and pepper then brosh the exterior with some egg white, and rib it with a mix of sesame seeds, fry is a pan with little coconut oil, or grape seed oil, one minute per side, let rest for another 4 minutes and slice. For the Sauce we need some Yuzu juice, sour cream, tahine, and lemon peel. Finish up with some toasted Pistachio. I like to add some smoke Paprika on top of the fish.
Crudo di Capesante al Limone e Mango, on-shel bay scallops marinated on a Thai Chili, Lemon zest juice, diced fresh Mango, Coriander, salt pepper. Serve on a iced bowl, with seaweed grass, on the shell after letting marinate the scallops for at least 2 hours.
Vongole con Lardo, Peperoncino, Paprika, e Coriandolo, Clams with dry Peperoncino, Smoked Paprika, and Coriander, in a hot pan, start with extra virgin olive oil, add some diced smoked lard or Spek, add the dry peperoncino, the parika, add the clams and a hit of wine, cover let the clams open, mix a couple of times until wine evaporated, add the Coriander and Serve with a slice of lemons.