Gamberi in Saor | Shrimp in Sweet-Sour Sauce

Ukraine Relief tea towel by Three Pines Studio

Marinating fried food in sweet-sour vinegar brine began as way of preserving ingredients, especially for long seafaring journeys. It is still a tradition in Venetian cuisine. The classic dish sarde in saor stars sardines marinated with onions, raisins, pine nuts and spices in a sweet-sour vinegar mixture. But the technique works well with other seafood, and even vegetables. Since fresh sardines are not always easy to come by, I substituted shrimp; and since there is a pine nut allergy in my family, I used sliced almonds instead. Mound the shrimp, along with the tangle of onions, raisins, and nuts, onto crostini for cicchetti (Venetian bar snacks); or serve it at room temperature as part of an appetizing summer supper.(Adapted slightly from Cinnamon and Salt, by Emiko Davies.)

Makes 12 cicchetti

INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup (50 g) sultanas (golden raisins)
1/4 cup (60 ml) dry white wine
12 large shrimp
Unbleached all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons sunflower or vegetable oil, for frying
Fine sea salt
1 medium to large white onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
1/2 cup (125 ml) white wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed (or a pinch of ground coriander)
Pinch of ground cloves
About 1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons pine nuts or sliced almonds
12 slices fresh or toasted baguette, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS           
1. Soak the raisins in wine while you prepare the other components of the dish.

2. Coat the shrimp in flour and shallow-fry them in sunflower oil in a skillet for 1 to 2 minutes per side over medium-high heat, until golden and crisp. Season with salt and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate.

3. Cook the onion gently in a frying pan with the olive oil just until it is soft and translucent, 10 to 15 minutes on low heat. Add the vinegar, the wine from the sultanas (set the sultanas aside), some freshly ground pepper, and the spices. Sprinkle in a little of the sugar (you may need less or more, depending on how sweet the onion is and your taste). Simmer gently for about 10 minutes, until the onion is tender but not mushy. Turn off the heat and stir in the sultanas.

4. Arrange the shrimp in a terrine or deep dish. Spoon the onions and sultanas over the shrimp, and sprinkle with the pine nuts or almonds. Pour any remaining vinegar sauce on top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving. Remove from the fridge 1 hour before serving to take the chill off. For cicchetti, mound some of the onion-raisin mixture on slices of baguette and top each slice with a shrimp. Secure with toothpicks and arrange on a plate.