Insalata di Frutti di Mare (Italian Seafood Salad)

By Dan Pelosi

Updated December 15, 2023

  • Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
2½ hours
Prep Time
45 minutes
Cook Time
1¾ hours
Rating
5(162)
Comments
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Crisp and zesty, this version of the classic Italian dish uses shrimp, scallops and calamari but works well with any seafood you can get your hands on. It can be served as an appetizer for a large feast or as the main course of a smaller meal. Steaming the seafood instead of boiling it makes it more tender and simultaneously gives it a snappier bite. Submerged in an abundant amount of tart dressing while it cools in the refrigerator, the seafood, along with fennel and celery, ends up infused with serious flavor. Spicy jarred cherry peppers add a welcome hit of heat, but sweet cherry peppers can be substituted.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

  • Ice

  • 5 lemons

  • 1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed

  • 1 pound sea scallops, halved horizontally

  • 1 pound calamari, tubes cut into ½-inch rings, tentacles left whole

  • ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil

  • 4 garlic cloves, finely grated

  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

  • Salt and black pepper

  • 1 cup thinly sliced fennel (from 1 small bulb)

  • 1 cup thinly sliced celery (from 1 to 3 stalks)

  • 1 cup torn or sliced pitted Castelvetrano olives

  • ½ cup drained jarred sliced hot cherry peppers

  • 1 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

13 grams carbs; 237 milligrams cholesterol; 369 calories; 16 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 24 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 721 milligrams sodium; 29 grams protein; 2 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place a steamer basket or metal colander inside a large pot. Add water, making sure it does not rise above the bottom of the steamer. Cover the pot and bring the water to a simmer. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with water, ice and the juice of one lemon.

  2. Step 2

    Place the shrimp in the steamer, cover and steam for 2 to 3 minutes, until opaque and cooked through, then transfer to the ice bath. When cool, lift out and place on a towel-lined tray to dry. Repeat with the scallops and then the calamari. Transfer to the refrigerator to cool for at least 15 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, ½ cup lemon juice (from 2 to 3 lemons), garlic, vinegar and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Add the fennel, celery, olives, cherry peppers, parsley, the zest of 1 lemon and all of the seafood. Gently mix everything together, ensuring the scallops do not break apart. Submerge as much seafood as possible in the dressing in the bowl by gently pressing it down. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

  4. Step 4

    Before serving, give the salad a mix and season to taste with salt and pepper. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the salad into a serving dish. Spoon some (or all) of the dressing over the salad and garnish with extra chopped parsley and lemon zest.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
162 user ratings
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Comments

Laurie_N

Delicious and elegant treat for seafood lovers! Made 1/3 of the seafood and 1/2 of the dressing for a light dinner for two. (You need more liquid dressing to properly submerge the seafood.) Three minor mods for next time: 1. More garlic 2. Shave fennel with a mandolin since thin slides were still too thick. 3. Use higher quality EVOO.

Dan

You will be left with a wonderfully rich seafood stock in the steaming pot. Freeze in wide-mouth pint jars (jars with a shoulder will break) and use when stock or bottled clam juice are called for.

Gib Metcalf

We freeze our stocks (seafood, meat, veggie) in 8 oz paper hot cups. Easy to store and easy to grab a cup or two when making soup.

Lisa

I have made this recipe a number of times and absolutely love it! However, steaming the seafood leaves a mess of pots to clean! I now poach each batch of seafood in a large sauté pan with perhaps 2” of very lightly salted water. I remove once just cooked through and immediately plunge each batch into iced lemon water as advised. I do not change the water with each subsequent batch, but add more as needed. You’re left with a flavorful broth to use as you wish.

Youssef

Added this to my 7 fishes rotation and it was an absolute hit. Perfect amount of acidity, great crunch from the veggies and steaming the seafood. I added more calamari and honestly eyeballed most of the dressing inputs - pretty hard to mess this recipe up. Any good seafood salad at an Italian speciality food market is usually pretty pricey, but this is incredibly affordable and just as good if not better!

Doug G

Luscious! Followed every step which I never do…always adding, altering, changing something…not this time! I will make this exactly the same again!

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