Greek cooks introduced an excellent delicacy – salad from the insides of sea urchins: aсhinosalad dressed with olive oil and lemon.

It isn’t cheap. On the Greek coasts, there are a lot of taverns, where they prepare this wonderful achinosalad and other dishes from a variety of marine inhabitants. We hope that this “tasty attraction” will win you over.

Sea urchins, like all inhabitants of the salty seas, have a specific flavor and aroma of iodine. The lovers of Russian and European cuisine may be not like this taste, but after you have appreciated this delicacy its use will give an additional bonus to your health and well-being. The Japanese believe that dishes from sea urchins contain the elixir of youth.

In the food they used meat of sea urchins, milt, caviar, entrails and even juice. The latter is consumed only by inveterate gourmets. A rare delicacy is caviar of sea urchins. It has a bright orange color, an intense taste of the sea and an iodine sweetish aftertaste. Caviar of sea urchins can be preserved for longer storage, like the fish caviar.

Take note: the best time to eat sea urchins, especially fresh, is winter.

How to cook the achinosalad? The sea urchins are cut with a knife into two halves. The upper part of the shell is removed. Further, halves, where the core is located, were washed with water. Excess moisture merges. At the top, the halves are poured with lemon juice and olive oil or balsamic vinegar (if were washed with plain water and there was no sea water).

This salad can be also eaten traditionally, as is customary in taverns, directly from the barbed shell, but you can lay the core on a layer of lettuce leaves. Note that this dish is considered a strong aphrodisiac.

Many holidaymakers do not know that collection of sea urchins is strictly prohibited by Greek law and fines are rather high.
Therefore, if you catch a protected species of sea urchin, which is especially notable for its taste, you will face fines of 400 to 3000 euros.

The professional fishery and processing of sea urchins are controlled by the Greek authorities, therefore, often in taverns and restaurants, sea urchins are supplied either by illegal fishermen or by amateurs: you need weigh all the pros and cons before deciding to enjoy this sea delicacy.

 

January 2019