Insects are not the only food of the future. If crickets and grasshoppers can also be flanked by snakes and crocodiles, unexpected resources come from the sea. "Unexpected" to say a little! And no we are talking about algae, more and more rightly appreciated. We are talking about creatures that both swimmers hate and diners … well, let's say at least that we are not used to finding them on the menu …
Yet they are galways used in the oriental cuisine: jellyfish are dried, salted and used to prepare salads in China, while Japan uses them for the preparation of sushi and tempura. THEin Thailand, then, he transforms them into spaghetti!
On our part, minds and palates, on the other hand, have yet to get used to the idea. For this reason, for some years, organizations such as Slow Fish and Marevivo they are committed to promoting the use of jellyfish on the table. In 2017 the European Union included them among the "novel food".
The choice of eating jellyfish has various beneficial effects. First of all onenvironment (of which we are part and which is also ours, or rather us!). We know that it is always poorer in fish and rich in stinging animals that invade our shores: the lack of many fish species is causing their proliferation since theirs are scarce natural predators (from tuna to turtles). PThis is fundamental the sustainable use of fish resources: the species to eat are 719 but we consume only 10% … It is essential to buy only seasonal fish: in spring, mackerel, in summer bream or sole, in autumn the turbot, and in winter alice and octopus. Or…
Jellyfish! Which is also very good for our health, since they are ricche of proteins and collagen. And then it makes us good to the mind, open ourselves to new horizons, without prejudices! Last but not least, the palate: scented with sea, jellyfish have, in spite of appearances, excellent consistency, similar to that of the octopus.
Naturally edible, although it is a stinging marine species, it is sufficient to remove them from the tentacles and keep them the 'hat' completely harmless. How do they taste? Lots of recipes developed by chefs and enthusiasts since the jellyfish-food arrived on the mouth.
The starry Gennaro Esposito for example, he has already created a 'Mediterranean' dish, the carpaccio of marinated jellyfish (the 'nocticula', obviously deprived of the stinging tentacles) with pesto, zucchini, and buffalo mozzarella. More recently the Ligurian Marco Visciola had proposed the jellyfish in tempura using the jellyfishes of the "pelagia" genus coming from the networks of anchovy fishermen from the port of Sestri Levante, which, more and more often, find themselves accidentally catching them.
Prepare the jellyfish in batter is simple. We summarize here one recipe provided by Slow Fish. Blanch the jellyfish for two minutes in water and lemon, dry them with a cloth, flour them and pass in the batter prepared with semolina flour and ice-cold water (you may want to add a yolk). Fry in hot but not hot oil. And good appetite, the sea delight is served: fried jellyfish for everyone!
Silvia Vigano
May 20, 2014
updated in October 2018
from Carola Traverso saibante
Cover photo: © Image Source / Corbis