I won’t be the first to say how powerful smells are: extraordinary anchors that launch us back into past memories. Every season, every place, even every house carries a set of smells that transport you through space and time. Three distinct aromas send me straight to childhood summer holidays with my parents among pine trees and endless hours on the beach — carefree days in Maremma, long ago.
The first, most evocative scent is that of sun-warmed towels, waved from a distance by your mother to call you off the beach when it’s time to dry; a hot, brackish hug that promises a piece of focaccia and a glass of fruit juice.
A close second is the smell of paper and ink from a book, its pages warped with salt and sprinkled with sand — a passport to more adventures.
The third scent that always makes me hungry is a symphony of garlic, parsley and sea: the smell of spaghetti allo scoglio — seafood spaghetti — where scoglio literally means a sea rock. On warm summer evenings, that appetizing aroma drifts from every pizzeria, trattoria and beach restaurant, slipping into your nostrils as you pass and teasing your appetite all over again.
A few days ago I lay on a towel in the garden reading — the closest thing to a vacation without leaving home. The first two smells came together and I found myself longing for the third: the aroma of seafood spaghetti preserved in my memory.
Rather than make a single bowl, I visited the fishmonger and bought enough to prepare an entire menu — a classic Italian summer fish menu made of three dishes that trace moments of past summers. Add a bottle of crisp white wine and you have a proper celebration.
Note: This post was originally written for Lagostina.
Tiny squid salad
A salad of tender small squids opens the meal. For me it captures the late-summer light and the bittersweet knowledge that the season is ending, even as I daydream about crisp autumn mornings. In recent months I’ve been teaching market cooking classes, becoming a loyal customer of local fishmongers and learning to choose the freshest catch: shimmering mackerel, delicate anchovies and creamy little squids that could be enjoyed almost raw.
If you find small, buttery squids, they need very little cooking. Clean them, then plunge them into a pot of boiling water. Turn off the heat and cover the pan: five minutes is usually enough. Drain, slice the mantles into strips and keep the tentacles whole. Toss with your best extra virgin olive oil, a generous handful of chopped parsley and a pinch of salt. If you like, add halved yellow and red plum tomatoes for acidity and color. Serve warm as a simple, bright appetizer.
Squid salad — Quick recipe
Serves: 4 | Prep: 15 mins | Cook: 5 mins
Ingredients
- 800 g small squids, cleaned
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt to taste
- 1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
- (Optional) A handful of yellow and red plum tomatoes, halved
Instructions
- Clean the squids and rinse well. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and plunge the squids and tentacles in. Turn off the heat, cover, and leave for about five minutes or until tender.
- Drain, slice the mantles into strips and leave the tentacles whole. Place in a bowl.
- Dress with extra virgin olive oil, salt and chopped parsley. Add halved tomatoes if using. Toss and serve warm as an appetizer.
Spaghetti allo scoglio — Seafood spaghetti
We used to rent a house in the pine forest of Riva del Sole. After dinner the family would ride noisy old bikes to Castiglione della Pescaia along the bike path, where an ice cream cone, a stroll along the main street or a walk by the harbor awaited. Those short evenings were a parade of smells: sun-warmed refuse bins (a slap in the face if you rode too close), wet grass behind villa hedges, mosquito repellent mixed with fresh aloe after-sun — and always, the scent of spaghetti with seafood that floated from every restaurant and beach kiosk.
Seafood spaghetti is often underestimated, but when executed well with fresh fish and high-quality pasta it leaves a lasting impression. It’s usually the first choice on a menu for good reason: bright, fragrant and generous, it’s a true summer dish.
Seafood spaghetti — Classic preparation
Serves: 4 | Prep: 10 mins | Cook: 15 mins
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped
- Chili pepper, to taste
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 200 g mussels, cleaned
- 300 g shrimp, cleaned
- 200 g squid, cleaned and sliced
- 100 g white fish (such as dogfish), cleaned
- 100 g tub gurnard fillets, cleaned
- 350 g spaghetti
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Chop parsley and garlic finely. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan with chili to taste. Gently sauté the garlic for two minutes over low heat.
- Add the mussels, cover and cook for about five minutes on medium heat until they open.
- Add the shrimp, sliced squid and the other fish pieces. Cook for about five minutes more until the fish is just cooked through. Season with salt.
- Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water but drain them about five minutes before the package’s suggested time, reserving a few ladles of pasta water.
- Add the spaghetti to the pan with the seafood and a ladle of pasta water. Toss and cook, adding more pasta water as needed, until the pasta absorbs the sauce. This risottato-style finishing creates a creamy, starchy coating without cream.
- When the spaghetti are al dente and the sauce is thick, sprinkle with more chopped parsley and serve, sharing the fish among your guests.
Salt-grilled mackerels
One July, during a blisteringly hot summer, we found ourselves welcomed aboard a fisherman’s small boat near Viareggio. Despite the tiny kitchenette, he produced a simple, perfect lunch: a pan of spaghetti and freshly caught fish grilled over coarse sea salt. The salt protects the fish, keeping it moist inside and crisp on the outside, while imparting a subtle smoky note from the charred skin.
If your fish is large, ask the fishmonger to butterfly it so it cooks evenly. This method is light, fast and full of flavor — a summer staple.
Salt grilled mackerel — Simple method
Serves: 4 | Prep: 5 mins | Cook: 10 mins
Ingredients
- 2 mackerels, about 300 g (10.5 oz) each
- Coarse sea salt for the grill
- Extra virgin olive oil to finish
Instructions
- Cover a non-stick grill pan with a layer of coarse sea salt and heat for a few minutes.
- Place the mackerels skin-side down on the hot salt. Cook about five minutes on medium heat, then turn gently and cook a few more minutes on the other side. Cooking times depend on fish size — monitor to avoid undercooking or drying out.
- Transfer to a plate, remove bones, skin and excess salt. Serve the fillets with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Link love
- Insightful post — a reflection on the return of slow blogging, a perspective I deeply relate to: less time chained to the computer, more time living and collecting richer experiences to share.
- Raw tomato pasta — a favorite for hot summer days: raw tomato sauce tossed with pasta for something bright and immediate.
- Italian stuffed tomatoes — a post combining the voices of two excellent food writers, celebrating rustic, seasonal cooking.
- Cherry brandy — an early, spirited step toward winter preserves; it’s never too soon to begin planning for the colder months.