The Mediterranean is the deep, blue heart that gives life to the countries that surround her. Traditionally prepared in an attractive way, always bursting with taste and colour, its seafood remains at the core of its cooking heritage - flavours that have spread their tentacles in homes and kitchens around the world.

So, with a little imagination and a dash of ingenuity, you can make as dramatic a production as you desire out of a piping hot bouillabaisse, a crisply grilled lobster or spicy squid...accompanied of course, by a cool glass of wine.

Seafood - one of the most well documented sources of protein - is the best way to complement warm sunshine and the tangy smell of the sea air. Take it from the experts and who would know better than the foodies from Nice, the capital city of the sparkling Cote D'Azur. Verve recreates the tender tastes of the fresh catch of the Mediterranean....

Crossover actor, Perizaad Zorabian, who put Bandra's sea-facing promenade on the national map with the little big film, Joggers' Park, among other notables, such as Morning Raga and Bollywood Calling, says,
Though primarily a meat and chicken eater, I do also enjoy my plate of fish. There was a time when I had turned vegan but continued to consume fish for its latent qualities of nurturing the skin and hair. I relish crab and pomfret, predominantly in their Indian flavoursome avatars. And, while I was growing up, I used to love my tuna sandwiches...."

Tartellette Riviera With Tuna Cream And Smoked Anchovies From Galice

TUNA CREAM:
Ingredients: Tuna in olive oil, 400 gms; Mayonnaise, 2 spoons; Capers, 1 coffee spoon; Chopped shallot, 1 unit; Chopped chives, 1 pinch; Chopped celery, 1 branch; Chopped scallion, 1 pinch; Chopped lettuce, 1 pinch.
Main ingredients: Candied roma tomatoes, 4 halves; Roma tomatoes, 8 slices; Cucumber, 8 slices; Chopped chives, 4 pinches; Smoked anchovy fillets, 4 units; Thin slices of radish, 12 units (cut lengthwise); Candied red peppers, 8 slices; Black olives from Nice, 12 units; Lettuce leaves, 12 units; Tender celery, 4 branches; Soft quail eggs, 4 units.

LEMON VINAIGRETTE:
Ingredients: Juice of lemon, 1/2 unit; Olive oil from Nice, 5 spoons; Salt and pepper to taste.
Method: Filter the tuna of its oil and mash it with a fork. Add the mayonnaise, capers, scallions, chives and herbs. Add salt and pepper to taste.
For the dressing, at the bottom of a dish, place the cream of tuna and harmoniously add the remaining ingredients, always being careful of alternating the colours and trying to give a maximum of volume.
Add a pinch of flower salt and freshly ground pepper, generously sprinkle olive oil and serve the lemon vinaigrette separately.

Stuffed Local Red Snapper Nicoise Style, Bouillabaisse Sauce

RED MULLET:
Ingredients: Red Mullets (150gms/piece), 8 units; Spinach, 400 gms; Piece of crust, 60 gms; Cuttlefish, 100 gms; Large prawns raw, 5 units; Lemon, 3 units; Orange, 1 unit; Clove of garlic, 1 unit; Parmesan, 1 spoon; Salt, pepper, olive oil and espelette pepper to taste.
Method: Bone the red mullets without damaging the fillets and the skin of the stomach and set aside in the fridge. Brown the spinach with a clove of garlic in olive oil. Fry the pieces of crust in olive oil until they turn pale yellow. Clean the large prawns and brown them with olive oil in a hot frying pan. Do the same with the cuttlefish. Cut the lemon into pieces with the orange peel and blanch them in boiling water. Mince the spinach roughly and gather all the ingredients in a salad bowl, adjust the seasoning and add the Parmesan to thicken the preparation. Stuff the red mullets and tie them up to preserve them during the baking. Seal the fish on the two faces, put them in a dish with olive oil, juice of fish and bake them for about 8 minutes at 160°C, by washing them down steadily.

FISH SOUP:
Ingredients: Rockfish, 1 kg; Garlic head, 1 unit; White onions, 2 units; Fennel, 1 unit; Tomato purée, 1 soup spoon; White wine, 1/4 ltr; Saffron, 1 tsp; Olive oil, pastis, anis and fennel grain, thyme and laurel to taste.
Method: Rinse the rockfish. Slice the onions, fennel, and the garlic finely and brown them in olive oil. Mix constantly while adding in the tomato purée and the fish and allow it to cook for a few minutes. Add the pastis and the white wine and boil slightly until reduction. Cover with water and cook gently for 30 to 40 minutes - add the saffron 10 minutes before the end of cooking. After putting the mixture through a food processor, pass it through a sieve and boil down half of the juice.

ROUILLE (BOUILLABAISSE SAUCE):
Ingredients: Potato, 1 unit; Garlic cloves, 6 units; Egg yolk, 2 units; Olive oil, 1/4 ltr; Saffron powder, 2 pinches; Cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste.
Method: Boil the potatoes, blanch the garlic. Gather the ingredients except the olive oil in a mixer. Reduce the mixture to a purée then add the oil and adjust the seasoning. If the rouille is too thick, dilute it with some fish soup.
For the finishing and presentation:
Remove the strings from the red mullet and place it in a plate. Wash it down with the fish juice, some lemon juice and the rouille. Add some Olive oil, pepper, and garnish with some petals of caramelized tomatoes.