Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/760086
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF GREEN. OPPOSITE: BY BARBARA KRAFT FOR ONLY A FEW DAYS IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER, THEN AGAIN IN APRIL AND MAY, the molecanti (or soft-shell crab fishermen) of Venice venture into the lagoons to find the tiny crabs—moleche—that are just about to molt. There is a window of only up to six hours between the time the crustaceans shed their tough carapace and their new shell hardens when they can be eaten in their entirety. This lightning-fast process requires quickly identifying the crabs that haven't yet molted, harvesting them, shipping them, and storing them in seawater tanks until the mo- ment they transform. Of the two brief seasons when they can be found, fall is when they're rarest: Both male and female moleche molt in the spring, but only males slough off their shells in the fall. The best way to prepare them, of course, is sim- ply—lightly dusted in flour, flash-fried, and served with a wedge of lemon. They're sweet, salty, and tiny (about half the size of a soft-shell Maryland crab), and they taste SEASON'S FLEETING Meals at Costa di Mare are inspired by seasonal seafood from the waters of the Mediterranean. Catch them before they're gone. by Andrea Bennett In colder months, sautéed sea scallops are served on fennel puree, with blood oranges, pistachio, fennel, and olive oil. 86