I only discovered these shrimp after I started living in Palermo. After trying them in a restaurant for the first time, I decided to serve red shrimp for my New Year’s dinner. Imagine my shock when I realized they were meant to be eaten raw. Picture this: New Year’s Eve, I’m sitting alone in front of a plate of raw shrimp, thinking, “If I get food poisoning, who’s going to call an ambulance?”
But after that first bite, I completely fell in love with this gift from the sea. Later I learned that people travel here from all over Italy just to eat these shrimp. So what should you know about them? The icon of Sicilian cuisine is the Gambero Rosso di Mazara. The name comes from the town of Mazara del Vallo, once home to Italy’s largest fishing fleet.
These red shrimp are caught at depths of 500–700 meters, where the water is icy cold and completely dark. Unlike most shrimp, they are already bright red while still raw, instead of turning red only after cooking. At local markets you’ll find small plates with three shrimp starting at around €5. In restaurants, they cost even more. I usually buy them early in the morning at Ballarò for €30–35 per kilogram. Sorry, I can’t really convert that into the number of shrimp—but it’s definitely a much better deal.
How do you eat them? The fish sellers at the market are wonderfully uncomplicated—they even snack on raw baby octopus straight from their own stalls. And every now and then, one of them hands me a raw shrimp to taste without the slightest hesitation. I still prefer to be a little cautious. First, remove the shell and the digestive tract. If you’ve never done it before, just watch a quick YouTube video. It’s incredibly simple: run your fingernail along the middle of the back and pull out the thin dark thread—that’s it. Then place the shrimp on a plate and drizzle it with lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. By the way, olive oil from the Mazara del Vallo area is excellent too. That’s really all there is to it.
There can be plenty of surprises at the market. Once, I almost bought shrimp for €60 per kilogram. It turned out they weren’t red shrimp at all, but the even rarer purple shrimp. They live even deeper and cost more. Personally, the red ones are more than enough for me. Another thing to know is that the shrimp may not come from Mazara at all. They can also be caught in the Tyrrhenian Sea, not far from Palermo. Of course, the locals insist that the true red shrimp come from Mazara and that their flavor is richer than those from the Tyrrhenian Sea. As for me, I’m perfectly happy with either. I simply buy whatever my favorite fishermen have that morning, and with a glass of wine, any fresh red shrimp makes for a perfect light lunch.