Cuttlefish (Photo: Susan McCrory)
A few more anecdotes from PRK’s Susan McCrory
about her recent trip to Rome
There is no shortage of fish to be had at the Testaccio market. Perusing the goods and laughing with the guys selling their wares–no, more like singing their wares–I stopped short at the cuttlefish (seppie) oozing their black ink, called sepia in English, and snapped a photo. One of my most memorable meals was a black ink risotto savored in Venice several years back. (Here’s an aside in the form of a news flash and a warning: the ink stains your teeth. Not what I call date food!)
SKILLS SET 2: Cleaning Squid
Curious, I didn’t have much luck finding a specific ‘how to’ on cuttlefish cleaning (!), but here’s a video showcasing grilled calamari with hot red pepper lemon and parsley, the first half of which gives a helpful demonstration on how to clean squid. This skill may not be as, um, frequently put to use as the first in the PRK Skills Set (“The Roasted Chicken,” see Jessica’s post of 9/16), but if you’re cooking squid or its ‘cuz the cuttlefish, you’ll need it.
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IS THAT A BODY IN THERE??
My husband and I left the Testaccio market in search of a more readily-edible lunch. All of a sudden we stopped short in our tracks on via Marmorata. Two young men were fairly stumbling with the weight of a long styrofoam box piled high with ice. Something gray-black and wet was sticking out the end….was that, gulp, a body in there? It was! Tuna!!
Whole tuna (Photo: Susan McCrory)
And boy was this a tuna. All 68 kilograms of it, live and whole, in transport to who knows where. The guys were good enough to pause in their labor, brush off the ice chips and hold the fish up for show. We all oohed and aahed.
Whole Tuna (Photo: Susan McCrory)
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Bidding “addio” to the fish, we landed for lunch at our favorite Testaccio bakery, Passi (this is where the pizza with zucchini flowerettes from yesterday’s post came from). As we left, I couldn’t help but snap a photograph from the open door looking in from the street onto the ovens. The smell of baking bread was to die for!
Passi bakery (Photo: Susan McCrory)
Praise the gods that “all roads lead to Rome.” Why did I ever leave??
I’m guessing that is a bluefin tuna, though I can’t quite tell from the pictures. Mediterranean tuna is extremely overfished. I’m disappointed that the fish is not identified precisely, and double disappointed that you’re bragging about it’s demise without any mention of the severe pressure facing tuna stocks worldwide.