Seafood

When buying fish it’s important to select the most vibrant, handsome-looking specimen you can find. It’s easier to tell if the catch is fresh by looking at the whole fish: the eyes should be clear and shiny and it will smell of the sea — a sweet fresh smell, not a fishy one. The gills should be bright red, not brown or grey, and the texture firm. Run your finger along the flesh, from the back of the head to just past the fin (the shoulder of the fish); even if the fish is a soft-fleshed fish it should spring back to shape. The scales should be shiny and tight, not loose and falling off. Shellfish should be either live, or look bright and vibrant if dead. Seafood such as oysters, mussels and clams (vongole) should be heavy and full of salt water. Squid and octopus should be vibrantly coloured and shiny. When buying seafood, either take a coolbox with an ice brick to carry it home or make the trip quickly. Lastly, don’t buy too far in advance; you don’t want to keep seafood in the refrigerator for more than two days.