For most people, Italian and sushi are two words that don't naturally go together. Chef David Pasternack is trying to change that, with a dish called crudo, or Italian sashimi.
The dish consists of raw fish dressed with olive oil, sea salt, acidic juices such as lemon or lime and sometimes vinegar.
Pasternack, the chef at New York City's Esca, has been serving crudo at his restaurant for a while, and the dish has grown in popularity around the United States.
"I always say, 'We're copied by many, imitated by few,'" the chef tells Michele Norris about the crudo at Esca — which means "bait" in Italian.
Now, he hopes to encourage people to prepare crudo at home with a new cookbook, The Young Man and the Sea.
Pasternack remembers when he first discovered the dish — on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia — and offers tips on preparing crudo, including finding the freshest fish and the highest-quality salts and olive oils.
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