The small crabs caught in the lagoon are a delicacy from La Sérénissime. The result of a unique supply chain, they represent one of the best expressions of Venetian cuisine. To prepare fried foods, perhaps with Daniel Canzian's tempura recipe
In the Venetian dialect they are called tired which literally means "sweet." And in fact the sweetness is the true peculiarity of this typical delicacy of lagoon kitchen, so rare and precious that it is considered a jewel of the sea and is expensive: 50 to 70 euros per kg. Outside the lagoon, they can only be found in the best fishmongers in the city. The moeche are none other than the little ones crabs which – in autumn and spring – go through the molting phase, becoming tender and delicious. In fact, certain weeks of the year (normally between April and May and October and November), give up their own shell while waiting for the biological process to create a new, bigger and stronger armor. And it is precisely at this moment when the fuse, as such, is fished according to an ancient process, unique in all of Italy. Well protected bySlow Food Ark of Taste and it is worth explaining.
Selection work
Fishing and musk farming, today concentrated near theGiudecca Island, Chioggia y Burano, is carried out thanks to the work of the so-called moecanti, officially recognized by the doges of the Republic of the Serenissima. This work, passed down for centuries from father to son, consists of capturing crabs through special fixed gill nets, placed in the shallow bottoms of the lagoons; then we proceed to a rigorous selection to taste the most experienced moecanti: crabs carefully – ready to move in a short time – are selected with the spiantani (that is, those that will change in a few days), while the so-called crabs checkmate (i.e. they now have a shell formed) come thrown into the sea. Subsequently, the moecanti separate the bonds from the spiantani by placing them in special wooden containers, before submerging them in the waters of the lagoon to complete the last ring of the supply chain: at this point we move on to operations. finally prepare to collect the fuse, eliminate the dead specimens and, finally, transfer the extra crabs that, gradually, become spiantani.
Fried moeche, but also read
The wick must be consumed whole, with the head and legs: consumed a few hours after fishing (maximum one day), it must be bought alive and stored in the refrigerator. Wanting to follow the fundamentalist recipe, that of pien au chou moeche – Once rinsed, they should be placed in a container in which a beaten egg was placed that they will eat, making them even softer and tastier. Then the frying, which is usually accompanied by the typical White Venetian polenta. Although the crunchy variant is the best known and most prepared in restaurants, in the famous bacari or in version Street food in gourmet walking bags, moeche are also excellent decrease and season with oil, garlic and parsley. Especially if it is Masanete, that is, female crabs that can be recognized by their abdomen folded in the shape of a heart. They are eaten at the end of summer, when they are ripe.
Moeche is in the author's tempura
He could only be a true Venetian leader. Daniel canzian, owner of the eponymous restaurant in Milan, to revisit moeche with a contemporary touch. Instead of the cabbage pie recipe, he prepares them in tempura skip the egg step. “I limit myself to flouring them with a batter: three parts flour, one part cornstarch and soda water so that it is soft, almost liquid. Then cook very quickly, one at a time, in peanut oil, at 160-180 degrees. It is dried and served perhaps with a sweet and sour sauce based on vinegar, sugar and spices to taste.” Canzian offers tempura moeche on the original menu Elevated Venetian cuisine, served only at the counter. With a large glass of Prosecco (for the record, the chef always has his Ancestrale Due Valli fresh) or a Franciacorta DOCG it is pure pleasure.
