I love raw fish as much as anybody, but I have to admit I tire of eating it in its most popular forms, as sushi or sashimi with their sometimes monotonous flavor combination of soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.
I’m just as partial toward the ceviches and tiraditos of Peru, that other great raw-fish culture, and the lesser-known but equally delicious crudos of Italy’s Adriatic Coast.
Crudo is often sliced thin, just like sashimi, but rather than getting its kick from soy and wasabi, it’s usually seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and sea salt, and often capers, olives, chiles and parsley, as well.
If there’s one chef who’s responsible for the growing popularity of crudo in this country, it’s David Pasternack, the chef of Esca in New York. Pasternack actually catches some of the fish he serves at his restaurant. He brings a fanatical sense of terroir — of the unique impact of the local microclimate and ecosystem on flavor — to his preparation of the fish he catches.(The New York Times’s Restaurant critic, Frank Bruni, actually called Pasternack The Fish Whisperer.)
The experience of savoring that just-caught local fish might not be available to the average Colorado diner, but preparing a good crudo with fresh seafood is more than possible.
I like to make crudo with bay scallops, which are sweet and tender. They are also bite-sized, which means there is no precision sushi-chef knife work involved. I toss the baby scallops with a good extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, capers, chiles, parsley and a good sea salt — flaky Malden salt is my favorite — and serve them with something crunchy, like a thin flatbread or toasted levain.
John Broening cooks at Duo restaurant, .
Bay Scallop Crudo
This recipe should be made with dry-pack scallops. Cheaper scallops are often kept artificially moist with chemical additives which result in a watery, flavorless scallop. Serves 4-6.
Ingredients
1 pound bay scallops
3 tablespoons finely diced red onion
12 parsley leaves, torn
2 tablespoons capers
Pinch chile flakes or cayenne pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Pinch Malden or other sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Directions
In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Taste for seasoning. Serve with toasted bread or crackers.
