Attention Food Lovers!
 

Will be touring Italy in 2 weeks & have some questions about the seafood/fish cuisine there. I keep reading about calamari, octopus, cuttlefish, sardines, etc. Would some of you foodies elaborate a little more on some of these dishes & let me know if I need to take an extra supply of immodium if I decide to partake of any of these unfamiliar foods. My husband & I are your average American seafood eaters. Shrimp, oysters, crab, lobster, snapper, grouper, salmon, halibut,etc.

you are mentioning all the foods I prepare at home. I nor my guests ever need immodium.

If you'll be eating these things near the sea, you should have no problem. I'm sure the immodium thing was a joke, but I have had an awful reaction twice to bad seafood in the US. However, I eat all the seafood you mentioned, and more, in Italy, and never had a problem.

In general, the food is of high quality. Now I know that is a sweeping generalization, but really, it is generally true. The Italians have a much higher food culture than we do here in the US.

Don't worry, and try them all.

Maybe you're asking about the kinds or types of dishes in which you might find those types of seafood?

As I recall, I've mostly seen calamari (squid) and octopus either as a breaded and fried appetizer, just like you would find in many American restaurants - but better tasting. You might also get them as a marinated appetizer or chilled salad, with no breading.

Another place you'll find calamari, octopus and cuttlefish (they're related to squid and octopus) is cut up (except maybe the tiny ones will still be whole) and mixed in with pasta or risotto (you might have had a shrimp dish like this). Generally, the sauces with these pastas are pretty straightforward and not at all weird-tasting - if that's what you're concerned about. Cuttlefish might be served with a black ink sauce, but my memory of having that dish is that it, too, did not taste as "weird" as it might sound.

I don't think I've ever had sardines, but my guess is that they would be fresh sardines, and served either breaded and fried, whole, or maybe grilled. Again, a simple and straight-forward preparation.

One of my favorite appetizers in Italy is fresh anchovies (as I recall, mostly in the Liguria area). Delete from your brain any memory of those salty, pasty things that come in a tin and make pizza very salty. These are fresh, small fish, maybe 3-4 inches long, fileted (I think), marinated and served with lemon, skin off. I can't remember cutting their heads off, and I'm too squeamish to eat the heads, so they must be served minus the heads and tails. They're small enough that you don't have to worry about bones.

If you like fish, there are likely to be varieties of fish that you've never heard of, simply because they're not available in the U.S. Just ask your waiter what fish (one you're familiar with) they are similar to, and if you like it, remember the Italian name and order it again in the future!

Have a great trip!

Hi sn,

Don't worry, you'll like it and it won't hurt you.

Pasta baked in parchment with seafood is very, very good, as are grilled sardines (not at all like the canned ones).

((I))

Have you seen the responses to your other thread with the same question?

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34610045

Didn't realize I posted in wrong forum until already sent but got it right the second time.

You only posted in one forum both times, the Europe forum
When the posting asks you to choose a country, that is strictly for search purposes after the fact

oh - I'm new at this computer/internet/forum stuff. sorry. I can't even get my 2 grown daughters to help me. hate being so illiterate with all this technology but I'm trying. anyway thanks for the info. I'll be off for Italy (1st visit) with my husband in less than 2 weeks & I can't wait. great info on this forum & it's helped me plan our trip.