Of all the world's cuisines, it's the Italians who really know how it should be done when it comes to seafood cookery. But, then, they do have some fantastic ingredients literally swimming around their shores in the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas, as well as much of the world's best shellfish too.
It's also said that the very best way to prepare fresh fish is to do as little as possible to it and let the flavours speak for themselves. This ties in with the overall simplicity of the Italian way of cooking to create a marriage made in heaven.
It's also why you'll find seafood featuring on the menus of virtually every Italian restaurant in Singapore in various different forms, all of them delicious. Here are just five of the ways that you can plunge into the very best of Italian seafood cookery to be found in Singapore today.
1. Vongole Pasta
Head down to PastaMania to enjoy one of the true classics of Italian seafood cookery in the form of Vongole pasta. Vongole is Italian for the small clams that are served in their shells on top of a generous mound of spaghetti and with a rich tomato sauce. Part of the pleasure comes from digging each individual clam from its shell and enjoying its succulent taste of the sea.
2. Calamari
Proof, if it were needed, that simple really is best comes from this fantastic dish brought to you courtesy of Kucina Italian, which makes the perfect appetiser to share or to enjoy on your own. Tender rings of fresh squid are deep fried in a light batter and served with spicy arrabbiata sauce, which works brilliantly to balance the mild flavour of the calamari.
3. Mariner's Choice
As a dish that originates in the southern part of Italy, predominantly around the port city of Naples, it's no surprise that seafood makes a major appearance on one of the standout pizzas from Pizzaboy. The Mariner's Choice features the restaurant's special tomato sauce along with tuna, shrimp, squid, onion, tomatoes, peppers, and cheese. The result is a pizza that's big and tasty enough to keep the whole crew happy.
4. Tagliatelle al Nero di Seppia
There's a deliciously rich combination of flavours in this dish from Bottega featuring narrow ribbons of pasta with cherry tomatoes, prawns and clams with a squid ink sauce enriched with bottarga, the salted and cured fish roe of the grey mullet, one of the most common fish in the Mediterranean.
5. Barramundi Su Letto Di Caponato e Pistacchio
Gattopardo is famous for its fresh seafood and this is perfectly demonstrated by this dish. A meaty barramundi fillet is grilled and served on a classic Sicilian eggplant stew with the addition of pistachio sauce to add a truly unique flavour.
Ready to be hooked by some first-class Italian seafood? Just leave it to Deliveroo.
