Genoese Fish Salad (Liguria)

Salads

Ingredients

Fish:

Gunard or sea bass - 1 large

Crawfish - 1

Shrimps - 24

Dried dolphin or tunafish - 10 slices

Vegetables:

Cauliflower - 1 small

Snap beans - 1/2 pound

Carrots - 4

Celery - 1 stalk

Artichoke hearts - 4

Scorzonera - 1 bunch

Sauce:

Pith of 1 bread roll soaked in wine vinegar

Garlic - 1 clove

Parsley, finely chopped - 2-3 sprigs

Pine nuts - 3 tbsps

Capers - 2 tbsps

Gherkins, chopped - 3-4 small

Pickled mushrooms, chopped - 8-10

Black olives, pitted and chopped - 2-3 tbsps

Hard boiled eggs - 2

Raw egg yolks - 2

Salt

Olive oil - 2/3 cup

Wine vinegar - 1/2 cup

Lemon juice, salt and olive oil

Ship's biscuits

Whole shrimps and pickles to decorate

Clean and cook the fish and shellfish to be used. Remove all skin and bones, and cut into fairly small pieces. Put all the fish into a bowl and dress with lemon juice, salt and olive oil. Put aside.

Clean the vegetables. The artichokes hearts, if canned, simply require draining and cutting into pieces. Leave the celery raw, thickly sliced. Cook the cauliflower, beans and carrots until just tender - overcooking will produce a sodden mass. Divide the cauliflower into small flowerettes and snap the beans into pieces. Slice the carrots. Put all the vegetables into a bowl and dress with lemon juice, oil and salt. Put aside and prepare the sauce.

Squeeze the bread dry. Mix together and then pound the garlic, parsley, pine nuts, capers, gherkins, mushrooms, black olives, the bread, and the cooked and raw egg yolks. When all this is reduced to a smooth paste, rub it through a sieve. Add a pinch of salt, the oil and half the vinegar, beating constantly as if making a mayonnaise.

Moisten the biscuits or bread with the remaining wine vinegar diluted with an equal quantity of water. Arrange these on a round or oval flat dish as a platform to the salad. Cover with a layer of dried dolphin or substitute, such as smoked salmon. Over this pour a tablespoon of the sauce. Make a layer of mixed vegetables are used up, sprinkling each layer with sauce and arranging it all in a pyramid shape.

Finally add the fish, arranging them attractively and over this, pour the rest of the sauce. Garnish with small whole shrimps and pickles.

Serves 6-8