Sea food, eat it

What is it about warm weather that makes us crave fish and seafood? Perhaps it's the association of the flavours with seaside towns, ocean terraces and beach bars; maybe it's the ease with which it can be cooked, limiting the time you need to spend toasting yourself by a hot grill. Whatever the reason, summertime brings the desire to chow down on the finest foods that the sea can offer; and it's easy to make the most of this with limited expense and effort.

The enormous variety of fish and other sea-dwelling edibles available in Italian supermarkets means that you're spoilt for choice; pick something that takes your fancy and suits the method of cooking best. For example, if you're going to be barbecuing fillets of fish directly on the grill, choose something fairly robust, like tuna. Oil the fillet before you put it on the grill. However, if you're marinating it first, avoid acidic ingredients like lime juice, which will partially ‘cook' the fish and make it difficult to turn and keep in one piece.

Alternatively, try a fish that can be cooked and served whole, like mackerel or snapper. Mackerel is a particularly good choice, as its oily flesh remains soft and juicy when it's been cooked over a fairly fierce heat. Season the body cavity and stuff it with lemon, herbs and garlic before cooking.

If your barbecue has a hotplate, you can cook more tender fish-catfish, cod and rehydrated baccalà, salmon fillets-directly on it. Again, oil and season the fish and put a little oil on the plate before you cook. If you don't have a hotplate, put fragile fish in foil parcels where they will steam. Because with this method the fish will take on the flavours of everything in the parcel with them, it is a good choice for mildly aromatic white fish.

The tentacled and shelled denizens of rockpools and crevices also lend themselves perfectly to summer eating. Try barbecuing king prawns on a skewer and serve them with a lime and chili dressing, or poach them in coconut milk with plenty of fresh basil, garlic, ginger, chili, and black pepper. Cut squid or cuttlefish into pieces and grill it lightly (not too long, otherwise it will become rubbery), then grill a couple of slices of salami or other spiced, cured sausage, and serve both in a salad of mixed peppery or bitter leaves (rocket, chicory, watercress) with a poached egg. These ingredients might sound like unlikely bedfellows, but they work well together.

Cook a pan of linguine, and in a separate pan heat fresh baby clams (vongole) with white wine, chili flakes, crushed garlic and lemon juice: cook the garlic and chili first in olive oil until the garlic is soft, then add the clams, a glass of dry white wine, the juice of a lemon and seasoning, and cover. When the clams are cooked (after 7 minutes or so, they'll open wide) mix this sauce with the pasta, discarding any closed shells, and stir in a couple of tablespoons of fresh, chopped parsley. This dish-a light, tangy sauce dressing the shellfish yawning in their nest of supple pasta and bright herbs-is an all-time classic.

Garlic, ginger, parsley, white wine and coconut milk make interesting sauces and marinades for light fish. Coriander, strawberries, grapefruit, mint and soy sauce individually complement the flavours of pink and oily fish. Spicy sauces and coconut milk work wonders with shellfish and squid. Cod and baccalà are great with bacon, ham and other types of cured pork. Or try a mix of flavours-and let us know how you get on.