Soft-Shelled Crabs in Venice

Moleche are a seasonal Venetian delicacy: tasty fried, in a salad, or unadorned

Featured September 10 Words by Ian Irvine
Soft-Shelled Crabs in Venice

VENICE

Moleche is the name for young soft-shelled crabs from Venice's lagoon. The Venetians adore them, and why not? They're delicious, of course, and the fact that these shellfish are only available for a few weeks in spring and autumn gives them the fugitive charm of other seasonal delights, such as English asparagus and Piedmontese white truffle.

Soft-shelled crabs are also a speciality of the eastern seaboard of the United States, but in Europe, only the northern part of the Venetian lagoon is home to a dedicated fishery. Their life cycle requires the young creatures to shed their carapaces in order to grow. (Males and females both moult in spring, but it's only the males in the autumn.) When they discard their shells, their new skins are soft and delicate. But if they remain in water for up to five to 10 hours, the skin hardens into a new, larger shell. Timing, therefore, is very important. The object is to market the crabs immediately after moulting. The skill of the molecanti - as the moleche fishermen of the Venetian lagoon are called - is to net the young crabs and sort them into three groups: spiantani (which will moult in a few days); boni (which will be ready within a few weeks); and matti (which won't moult at all). The latter are returned to the lagoon, while the others are kept in special wooden pens called vieri, which allow water to circulate inside, and are stored in the shallows of the lagoon. As the time approaches - from early March in spring and from late September in the autumn - they are inspected several times a day. When the moulting (the Venetians call it the muta) begins, they are taken from the water, sorted, cleaned and whisked off to market in great baskets. Refrigerated, they can be kept alive and in good condition for two to three days.

There are five farms operating at the lagoon and all have been working for more than 300 years - around 50-70 tonnes of moleche are harvested annually. As they retail for around �25 a kilo, this is a substantial business and there are currently some 50 boats and crew at work.

In the 1980s, the harvesting of moleche was under threat, particularly from pollution and the size and quantity of moleche declined alarmingly. Fortunately the fisheries have since recovered, though the complex and delicate balance of the lagoon's ecosystem requires constant monitoring. There is also competition in the brackish marshes from the farming of clams, another lagoon delicacy. It isn't just the fabric of Venice that is in peril from both the ravages of nature and the modern world.

When you find moleche, also known as granseole, for sale at Venice's fish market on the Rialto (and this is a 1,000-year-old institution worth visiting at any time of the year), you will see great piles of live, pale, grey-green crabs, four to five centimetres across (there are about 24 in a kilo). In season, every fish restaurant in the city will be offering them on its menu, either by themselves or as part of a dish called fritto misto di pesce with squid, prawns and small flatfish. They can be simply squeezed to remove excess liquid and then deep-fried unadorned, but the classic method is to soak the live crabs in a bowl of beaten egg (of which they absorb a surprising amount), before flouring and deep frying them in oil. Each one emerges as a golden-brown fritter with its legs in a crispy tangle, part crunchy, part yielding. They are eaten whole, a rich and savoury mouthful of the lagoon, a uniquely Venetian rarity.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
The Venetians love their moleche so much that Venice's silver hallmark, of a winged lion, is known as a moleca for its similarity to the soft-shell crab.

WHERE TO FIND VENETIAN MOLECHE IN SEASON

TRATTORIA AL GATTO NERO DA RUGGERO
This delightful fish restaurant is on the northern lagoon island of Burano, with tables spilling out onto the canal- side fondamento. Jamie Oliver came here in his last television series to learn how to cook risotto. 88 Via Giudecca, Burano, tel: +39 041 730 120

ALLA MADONN
An atmospheric restaurant near the Rialto down a narrow passageway. Expect excellent service and first- rate fish from the market less than 200m away. Calle della Madonna, San Polo, tel: + 39 041 522 3824

LOCANDA MONTIN
A long-established restaurant near the Zattere with a beautiful garden at the back with tables beneath vine- covered pergolas, Locanda Montin is excellent in warm weather. 1147 Dorsoduro, tel: +39 041 522 7151