Italy has 7800 miles of coastline, and many, many seafood recipes. Most of the country lies within a hundred miles of the coast; for comparison, most of New England also lies within 100 miles of the coast if you leave out all of Vermont!
Italy's Catholic heritage has ensured that there are many religious fast days where fish can be eaten, but not other kinds of meat, so not only are there many seafood recipes, but many of them are made interesting for holidays.
So it can be a lot of fun to explore Italian seafood recipes, except that there's an awful lot of Mediterranean seafood that is simply unavailable in New England, so you have to find local substitutes.
Here's my take on reasonable substitutes of New England seafood for Italian seafood:
| Italian Recipe calls for | In New England, try |
| Sole/Sogliole | Sole or Flounder |
| Skate/Razza | Skate |
| Swordfish/Pesce Spada | Swordfish |
| Tuna/Tonno | Tuna |
| Branzino | Branzino can de found at Restaurant Depot |
| Striped or Grey Mullet/Cefalo | Cod |
| Red Mullet/Triglie | Red Snapper is good but much larger |
| Eel/Anguille | You can sometimes get eel at Christmastime |
| Turbot/Rombo | Halibut |
| Scorpionfish/Scorfano | Halibut |
| Plaice | Halibut |
| Tope/Palombo | Halibut |
| Porgy/Dentice | Halibut |
| Sturgeon/Storione | Get Sturgeon at Baza in Newton, or use Halibut |
| Mackerel/Sgombri | Mackerel |
| Sea Bream, Red Porgy/Sarago | Haddock |
| John Dory/San Pietro | Haddock |
| Sea Bream/Orata | Cod |
| Cod/Merluzzo | Fresh Atlantic Cod is rarely served in Italy |
| Sardines/Sardine | Sardines, especially available at Christmastime |
| Grouper/Cernia | ? |
| Hake/Nasello | Hake or Cod |
| Salt Cod/Baccala, Stoccafisso | Salt Cod |
| Salmon/Salmone | Atlantic Salmon |
| Salmon Trout | |
| Monkfish/Coda di Rospo | Monkfish |
| Anchovies/Acciughe | |
| Herrings/Aringhe | Herrings |
| ------- | ----------- |
| Spiny Lobster/Aragosta | Sometimes can be found frozen |
| Lobster/Astici | American Lobster |
| Shrimp/Gamberi (gray, red, or small | Just substitute what you can get, they're all imported except the tiny pink Maine shrimp (also Canadian) |
| Spider Crab/Granceola | In these waters but not caught, alas! |
| All other crab/Granchio | Use local crab |
| Langoustine/Scampi | Frozen Langoustine |
| Squid/Calamari | Squid |
| Scallops/Cappesante | Sea Scallops |
| Mussels/Cozze | Mussels |
| Oysters/Ostriche | Oysters |
| Clams/Vongole | Littlenecks |
| Octopus/Polpi | Available whole frozen at Whole Foods and Chaves Market, Fall River |
| Musky Octopus/Moscardini | Unavailable |
| Cuttlefish/Seppie | Unavailable |
| | |
Note that Halibut substitutes for a lot of large, white fish with firm flesh and mild flavor. Many of the Italian fishes are smaller and cooked whole, which is impractical with a halibut. I selected halibut for the way it cooks and tastes over its size; if you really want to cook a whole fish, adjust the other ingredients to suit the flavor of the selected fish.
