Prawns (mazzancolle)
Mazzancolle give Chioggia’s brodeto a delicate prawn element. Their banded shells come off before they enter the pan with the scampi.
- Identity
- Mazzancolla can name Melicertus kerathurus or Marsupenaeus japonicus.
- Form for the pan
- Whole raw prawns, shelled before cooking.
Prepare the right cut
Buy the whole raw prawns, then remove the shells and intestinal tract before cooking. Keep the prepared flesh cold while organizing the other seafood. Add it in the sequence of the brodeto, allowing the filtered fish stock to bring the ingredients together. Handle gently as the translucent flesh becomes opaque.
In Adriatic fish cooking
Mazzancolle have a prawn-shaped body, long antennae and darker transverse bands across the abdomen. They are distinct from the long-clawed scampo served beside them. In brodeto de pesse alla ciosota, the mazzancolle are shelled before cooking and enter the pan early with the scampi, before the bivalves and fish fillets.
Cook with it
Confirm species and purchase form
Read the scientific name on the label: the Italian market name mazzancolla covers Melicertus kerathurus and Marsupenaeus japonicus. Caramote prawn identifies kerathurus specifically. Specify whole raw animals rather than precooked peeled prawns, since preparation and purchase quantities differ.
Keep it cold until cooking
Follow the seller’s storage directions and the package date. Keep raw seafood covered and refrigerated, separate from food ready to eat. Prepare the fish stock and seafood with clean tools and keep the cleaned pieces cold until their turn in the pan.
