L'Italo-Americano

Sardinia, A Time And Place For Lobster THURSDAY, JULY 7 ,2016 www.italoamericano.org 17 L'Italo-Americano I f S a r d i n i a i s t h e s e c o n d l a r g e s t i s l a n d i n t h e Mediterranean after Sicily, with 2,000 kilometers of spec- tacular coastline and some of the m o s t p r i s t i n e s c e n e r y i n t h e world, you might ask, why don't Americans know much about it? That question has dogged me most of my life, particularly when, for example, someone will say, "Your mother is from Sardinia? Oh, my grandparents c a m e f r o m S i c i l y , t o o ! " O r , "I've always wanted to go to JULIA DELLA CROCE Corsica. What's it like?" Just yesterday my hairdresser, comb- i n g t h r o u g h m y s o m e w h a t parched mane after my return from a visit there, advised, "You know, you really should wear a hat when you go to Argentina." Perhaps Sardinia's relative obscurity should come as no surprise. Separated from both Sicily and the mainland by some 500 kilometers, it was cut off from the rest of Italy geographi- cally, left to its own by the exi- gencies of nature and history. For the most part, Sardinian cul- ture developed in the interior. Archeological finds there show evidence of human habitation as early as 150,000 BC, though the first peoples to have left a bold footprint with their commanding stone towers was the Nuraghic civilization. They surfaced in the 18th century BC in the hilly i n t e r i o r o f t h e i s l a n d w h e r e shepherding developed on the rugged terrain. Until modern times, the coastline was all but uninhabited for fear of pirates and dread of the mosquitos that infested the coastal waters wet- lands and spread malaria. (The salt marshes weren't drained u n t i l t h e l a s t c e n t u r y w h e n Mussolini's engineers opened up a c c e s s t o t h e e m e r a l d g r e e n waters surrounding the island.) An exception is Alghero, a 13th century port that was set- tled by Spaniards. I was based there in June to tour the island with a buyers' delegation at the invitation of the Italian Trade Commission. Today, Alghero still speaks the Catalan colonial language and retains its Iberian character. As elsewhere on the s t u p e n d o u s c o a s t , i t s w a t e r s teem with fish and shellfish and eateries offer the local catch, notably, spiny lobster. One such establishment is Il Pavone ("The Peacock"), considered one of the best by Massimo Cannas, a food importer based in Los Angeles and an Alghero native who trav- eled with our group. How does one of the very best Algherese restaurants prepare its lobster? No drawn butter dunking in this Mediterranean paradise. Think cool, fragrant olive oil and fresh o r a n g e j u i c e f o r a d r e s s i n g . Here's the recipe, adapted for the American kitchen, substitut- ing Maine lobster without apolo- gies. Lobster in the Style of Il Pavone For 4 people F o r f o o d s a f e t y a n d f i r m flesh, lobsters must be cooked live. If the process of immersing them in boiling water while they a r e s t i l l t h r a s h i n g a r o u n d i s daunting, you can slip the crea- tures into a freezer for half an hour before cooking to sedate them. Alternatively, have your fishmonger cook it for you. •4 (1-1/4 pound) live lobsters •4 tablespoons coarse sea salt or kosher salt Topping: •4 cups baby arugula •1 small red onion, halved and cut into paper-thin slices •1 pint vine-ripened cherry tomatoes or other sweet vine- ripened tomato of the season, diced For the dressing: •1/2 cup or more extra-virgin olive oil, preferably Sardinian • 4 t a b l e s p o o n s f r e s h l y squeezed orange juice, or to taste Garnish: 2 oranges, halved and sliced 1. Select a pot large and deep enough to accommodate the lob- sters comfortably. If you don't have one you can cook the lob- sters two at a time. Fill with enough water to cover the lob- sters entirely and bring it to a lively boil over high heat. Slip in the lobsters and add the salt. Cover, leaving the lid slightly askew to prevent a boil-over. Cook until the lobsters are trans- formed to a bright red color, about 12 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer insert- ed into the tail registers 175 degrees F. Transfer them to a rimmed baking sheet. If you are cooking two at a time, repeat the process. Reserve the cooking water. 2. When the lobsters are cool enough to handle, grasp the tail with one hand and the body with other and twist to detach, work- ing over a bowl to catch any j u i c e s . T w i s t t h e c l a w s a n d knuckles from the body. Using the flat side of a mallet, crack them and extract the meat, dis- carding the shells. Pull off the legs, separate them at the joints, and reserve. With the underside of the tail facing up, split it in half lengthwise and extract the meat, leaving the two half-shells intact. Save any coral and dis- c a r d t h e i n n a r d s . R i n s e a n y tomalley off the tail meat in the reserved cooking water. Cut the tail meat into bite-sized pieces and add to the claw and knuckle meat. 3. Blend the olive oil with the juice of the orange. Add more olive oil or orange juice to taste. 4. Arrange the tail shells on a large platter, or if you prefer, place two halves of each indi- vidual serving plate. Replace the meat in the shells. Arrange the reserved leg pieces around them. Top with the arugula, sliced o n i o n , a n d d i c e d t o m a t o e s . D r e s s w i t h t h e o l i v e o i l a n d orange juice. Surround the lob- s t e r s w i t h t h e o r a n g e s l i c e s . Serve. Julia della Croce is a print & broadcast journalist and James Beard award-winning cookbook author, cooking teacher, culi- nary consultant & recipe devel- oper. You can visit her on her website, www.juliadellacroce. com and blog, http://juliadel- l a c r o c e . c o m / f o r k t a l e s 1 / C o n n e c t o n F a c e b o o k : J u l i a della Croce - chef & foodwriter Twitter: @juliadella croce LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES Aragosta al Pavone. | Credit: Alexandra Dib. Il Pavone dining room. | Credit: Massimo Cannas

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