Il Red shrimp from Mazara del Vallo was decreed as Sicilian excellence appreciated worldwide due to its unique qualities, taste, flavor and smell. Let's discover together the characteristics of thegold red the province of Trapani.
The red prawn of Mazara, excellence of Italian cuisine
A much loved and widely used product by chefs, we are talking about Red shrimp di Mazara del Vallo, a seaside town in the province of Trapani with a thousand-year history and a fascinating culture. The red prawn was decreed as one of many excellence of Italian cooking appreciated all over the world. In recent years, this specialty has reached a wide range of uses and is widely used in many recipes and dishes in the Italian and international catering.
A fascinating story
In the past, this typical variety of the Mediterranean and the Orient was not valued and was indeed discarded and thrown away, because it did not have white pulp and immediately tended to become dark. Fortunately, things have changed over time: today it is the most sought after and prized crustacean.
In recent years, Rosso di Mazara has increasingly established itself as an all-Italian excellence, ideal for making dishes of crudités but also excellent Primi and seconds.
There are even those who say that the Mazara red prawn does not exist, as it is a variety that cannot be linked to any city. However, the story of the Red shrimp from Mazara del Vallo is intertwined with the maritime one of the town. The city has always linked its activity to fishing, since the ancient Phoenician origins.
In its golden years, from the end of the 1300s to the XNUMXs, Mazara had about XNUMX fishing boats specialized in fishing for this crustacean. Today, about sixty of those fishing boats remain, together with about thirty fish processing and conservation establishments.
Crustacean fishing takes place in the heart of the Mediterranean south of Mazara, near Lampedusa, Malta, Pantelleria, Cyprus and Turkey.
The characteristics of the red shrimp
Gambero Rosso di Mazara has well-defined physical and organoleptic characteristics that distinguish it considerably from others.
THEaristaeomorpha foliacea, this is its scientific name, lives in the muddy bottoms of the Mediterranean. It feeds on plant organisms, cannot be cultivated and is fished in pristine waters at a depth ranging from 200 to a thousand meters using the trawling method.
It has a purple-red color virtually coral; has the head with some dark spots; on the palate it has a unique taste, thanks to the alternation of decisive and sweet notes. Characteristics that derive from the high percentage of evaporation from the sea which enriches the shrimp with mineral salts, giving it a very iodized, dense, delicate meat that is easy to cut. The flesh is white and compact. that's why it is the ingredient chosen by great chefs in their exclusive and original creations.
How to eat it
Let's have lunch crude in tartare but also grilled, pan-fried or fried. This crustacean lends itself well to being accompanied by rather fatty foods, as a condiment paccheri accompanied by a pistachio pesto, in the perfect Sicilian culinary tradition. It is often combined with citrus fruits.
Its main destination is the most exclusive markets around the world and the aThe catering of the metropolis.
It is also possible to taste it in gourmet restaurants.
An asset
We know Sicily is a land of sea and sun, history, culture, sacrifices. More and more is needed enhance the potential of the area. Thanks to a set of policy initiatives aimed at making our local products known and making them become excellences known all over the world specialty it promoted the image of the island.
The red shrimp of Mazara del Vallo, excellent product, represents one many of the specialties and boasts of the clique and beloved Sicilian regional cuisine.
cover photo from Pixaby
