Sicilian Sashimi with Peruvian Olive Oil

Eating clean in the holiday interregnum

Hi folks —

I hope all who celebrate Thanksgiving had a wonderfully butter-enriched time. After such indulgence, I think it’s a good opportunity to turn to some cleaner eating, especially as we head into even more holiday celebration.

For my post-Thanksgiving respite this weekend, I kept it simple with raw fish. Usually that means either an Italian-inflected crudo or takeout sushi, but this time I combined the two, taking inspiration from the legendary San Francisco restaurant Swan Oyster Depot. This old-school seafood Mecca, a true bucket-list destination, serves many classics — think fresh sourdough dunked into warm Dungeness crab fat — but a notable one is the cleverly-named “Sicilian sashimi.”

An array of fish, just-plucked from cool Bay Area waters, are sliced and arranged on a plate as you’d see them in any fine Japanese restaurant, earning their sashimi status. Their Sicilian provenance comes in the form of capers, red onion, and extra-virgin olive oil, distributed liberally on top. A crudo, perhaps, but something a little more special.

Of course, the fish must be sashimi-grade and complementary to the acid kick of the capers. I chose buttery scallops along with lightly-cured Arctic char and yellowfin tuna, alternately fat and lean. But most important is the olive oil; it has to be top-notch. Here, I reached for the new Peruvian early-harvest variety from my friend Damian’s label Primis Imports: it’s assertive without being overwhelming or bitter, with mild tropical notes that lend themselves well to fish. (This is no ad; Primis is genuinely my favorite, go-to olive oil.)

Once you have those two elements taken care of, it’s easy sailing from there.

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Sicilian Sashimi