Italian cuisine has a new ingredient

 

A very intriguing article here about how blue crabs, the kind familiar to U.S. citizens on the East and Gulf Coast, particularly in Maryland, are an invasive species in the waters around Italy.

And surprisingly, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Italian chefs are incorporating the invaders, of which there appears to be plenty, into Italian seafood dishes.

Yes, there does appear to be plenty:

Blue crab invasion upends Italy’s culinary traditions and ecology

It's apparently somewhat good for the chefs and the consumers of what the chefs prepare:

"Zennaro says the blue crabs, once considered tasteless by many Venetians, have adapted to the local environment, developing more flavor as they feast on their version of the Mediterranean diet. “Their meat is much more savory,” he says. “The versatility of the blue crab meat allows you to have a good base for working and studying new pairings and bolder dishes.” He’s now serving a blue crab dish with ponzu caramel sauce and trout caviar, and has plans for frying it as a soft shell or using it “as a condiment with fresh egg spaghetti.”

But what are they doing to the ecology/environment?

"Just as tourists overcrowd hyped vacation destinations in Italy, the blue crabs have become an invasive species, particularly in the Veneto region because its bay hosts no known predators. The crabs prey on young clams, mussels and oysters, and have destroyed up to 90 percent of the area’s young clams, causing severe damage to future production. This invasion prompted the Italian government to allocate 2.9 million euros (about $3.2 million) to protect local fisheries from the crabs. The damage is extraordinary, not only to the marine ecosystem but to small fisherman families whose livelihood depends on providing local shellfish to markets and restaurants."

Yeah, that doesn't sound too good. So just as I've recommended eating as much lionfish as is possible down south, I guess I have to recommend eating as much blue crab as possible in Italy.

Should we ship them some Old Bay?