Taranto, Puglia
Taranto's raw seafood platter — a presentation of the living harvest from the Mar Piccolo (the inland lagoon of Taranto) including raw oysters, raw sea urchin, raw mussels, raw clams, and raw taranto scallops, served on ice with lemon, dressed with nothing but the sea-water brine they open in. The Mar Piccolo's unique ecology (landlocked warm lagoon fed by freshwater springs called 'citri') produces shellfish of incomparable flavour intensity — less saline than open-sea shellfish, more mineral, and with a specific sweetness from the spring water.
Pure, briny, mineral, with the cool sweetness of the Mar Piccolo's spring-fed waters — raw shellfish at the peak of Italian coastal eating
All molluscs must be alive at service — test by tapping (live mussels and clams close; dead ones don't). Open only at the moment of service. No dressing other than lemon juice squeezed at table — the brine in the shell is the sauce. Sea urchin (ricci di mare) are halved and the roe scooped with a small piece of bread. Temperature: ice below, ambient above — the shellfish should be cold but not refrigerator-cold.
The Mar Piccolo oysters and mussels are available through Taranto specialty suppliers outside Puglia. For inland service: use the highest quality Atlantic or Irish oysters available — the raw presentation's quality depends entirely on the shellfish's freshness. The canonical bread accompaniment is pane di Altamura — the dense semolina bread mopped into the shellfish liquor after eating the mollusc.
Dead shellfish — the central safety concern. Washing the shellfish before service removes the natural brine. Dressing with oil or vinegar before service — the natural brine is the complete seasoning. Serving with too-pungent accompaniments (strong cheeses, pickles) that overpower the delicate shellfish.
La Cucina della Puglia — Accademia Italiana della Cucina