Italian Cold Scungilli Salad Recipe

Growing up in an Italian-American household scungilli was always on the Christmas Eve menu. It was part of the “Seven Fishes” Christmas Eve Dinner as my family would call it. More commonly it is called “The Feast Of The Seven Fishes.”

The scungilli would sometimes be prepared as a cold seafood salad or in a spicey pasta dish, “scungilli fra diavolo”. As a kid I did not like scungilli, as an adult, I kind of like it.

What I like the most about scungilli are the memories and nostalgia I get from cooking this sea conch. Scungilli is not for everyone, but if you like shellfish or the briny flavor, I suggest you give scungilli a try.

What Is Scungilli?

“Scungilli (pronounced “skoon-JEE-lee”) is a term used in Italian-American cuisine for a type of sea snail, typically referring to conch, a marine mollusk. It is commonly used in dishes like seafood salads, pasta, or in marinara sauce.”

Scungilli is a bit firm like calamari and has a mild taste that takes on the flavor of the seasonings used with it. It is commonly used in cold salads or in pasta dishes.

What is the feast of the seven fishes?

“The Feast of the Seven Fishes (Italian: La Vigilia, meaning “The Vigil”) is a traditional Italian-American celebration held on Christmas Eve. It involves a festive meal of multiple seafood dishes, symbolizing the wait for the birth of Jesus at midnight and rooted in the Roman Catholic tradition of abstaining from meat on holy days.”

Did we always make seven different fish or shellfish dishes? No, sometimes we made more than seven and sometimes less.

We usually had this variety of seafood for Christmas Eve dinner.

• Baccalà (salted cod) – recipe in the cookbook
• Clams or mussels
• Calamari (squid) – try my Fried Calamari Recipe
• Scungilli (conch)
• Shrimp – try my Shrimp Scampi Dish
• Anchovies or sardines

And sometimes, usually depending on availability and price, we would have this seafood as well.

• Lobster Tails
• Crab
• Eel
• Salmon – try my Salmon Bites Recipe

How to make cold scungilli salad

PREPARING THE SCUNGILLI:

• Begin by rinsing the scungilli with cold water. Next, slice the larger pieces of scungilli in half and leave the smaller pieces whole. Place the scungilli in a large mixing bowl.

PREPARING THE SALAD:

• To the scungilli add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

HOW TO SERVE COLD SCUNGILLI SALAD

• Serve this cold sungilli salad as an appetizer with Italian bread.

INVENT YOUR RECIPE:

For this cold scungilli salad recipe, I am using traditional ingredients such as peppers, olives, artichokes, onions, and fresh herbs. You can mix and match the vegetables you add to this salad. You could try sundried tomatoes, hot peppers, capers, carrots, chickpeas, or even cucumbers.

I keep the dressing for this salad simple with red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and lemon juice. You can experiment with different types of kinds of vinegar such as balsamic or apple cider and alternative oils such as avocado or sesame.

Instead of scungilli, this recipe also works well with cooked shrimp, scallops, and calamari. Before beginning the recipe boil, sauté, or steam your shellfish of choice and then cool before mixing in the other ingredients.

For more ideas like this cold scungilli salad recipe try these seafood recipes.