Corsica's 1,000km of coastline produces a seafood tradition that is both fiercely Mediterranean and distinctly insular — closer to Sardinia and Liguria than to mainland France. Three preparations define the island's relationship with the sea: Aziminu is the Corsican bouillabaisse — a fish soup of mixed rock fish (rascasse, rouget, sar, mérou) simmered in a broth of tomato, saffron, fennel, orange zest, and garlic, served over garlic-rubbed bread with rouille (the Corsican version includes piment and sometimes brocciu in the rouille, creating a spicier, creamier emulsion than the Provençal original). Unlike Marseille's bouillabaisse, aziminu includes langoustes (spiny lobsters) in the pot, making it a richer, more ceremonial dish — it is the Corsican fisherman's celebration soup, made when the catch is exceptional. Langouste grillée (grilled spiny lobster) is the island's ultimate luxury: split live langoustes in half, brush with olive oil and garlic, grill cut-side down over maquis-wood embers for 5-7 minutes until the flesh is just opaque, then serve with a simple emulsion of olive oil, lemon, and chopped fresh herbs. The maquis-wood smoke adds an aromatic character impossible to replicate with charcoal. Oursins (sea urchins) are the third pillar: harvested from November to April, eaten raw from the shell with a small spoon and lemon, the bright orange corail (roe) delivering an intense, briny, iodine-rich burst of pure sea flavor. The Corsicans serve oursins with a glass of Vermentinu blanc as the ultimate aperitif — the wine's mineral salinity matching the urchin's brine.
Aziminu: Corsican bouillabaisse with langoustes, rock fish, saffron, fennel, orange zest. Rouille with piment and sometimes brocciu. Langouste grillée: split, oiled, grilled over maquis-wood embers. Oursins: raw, November-April, lemon only. Vermentinu blanc as seafood pairing. Mediterranean-insular character, closer to Sardinia than mainland.
For aziminu: make a fish stock from the rock fish heads and bones first (30 minutes simmer), strain, then build the soup in this stock. The langoustes go in last — 10 minutes — so they don't overcook. For grilled langouste: collect dried maquis branches (myrtle, arbutus, heather) and burn them to embers in the grill — the aromatic smoke transforms the lobster. Oursins should be opened with special scissors (ciseaux à oursins), cut around the base, and the top lifted off to reveal the star-shaped corail. Eat immediately with a demitasse spoon. In Ajaccio and Bastia, oursinades (sea urchin feasts) are held in February — the height of urchin season.
Making aziminu without langoustes (they elevate it above ordinary bouillabaisse — it's the Corsican distinction). Overcooking langoustes (5-7 minutes maximum — overcooked langouste is rubber). Eating oursins outside season (November-April only — summer urchins have spawned and are empty). Using charcoal instead of maquis wood for grilling (the aromatic smoke is part of the dish). Serving oursins with elaborate sauces (lemon only — anything else masks the corail's pure marine flavor). Not including rascasse in aziminu (it provides the gelatinous body essential to the broth).
La Cuisine Corse Traditionnelle — Christiane Schapira; Poissons et Fruits de Mer de Corse