Molfetta, sea-urchin

(Not her, that thing in her hand is the urchin!!!)

A fisherman noticed that Emmy was closely watching him clean an odd looking sea-urchin, so he gave her a half of one. As best we could understand, it's called “richie” spelled Ricci. (On Google, first look for sea-urchin, then ricci.) They are available only in March, April and May, and cost about 25 cents for a half shell. It’s round and black, with half inch needles sticking out of the shell. Looks like a large black walnut.

They cut it in half, clean out something, and what remains is a very small amount of yellow-orange substance sticking to the inside of the shell. The fisherman demonstrated how to eat it by sticking out his tongue and carefully licking the orange stuff, while not getting stuck by the needles. Emmy tasted a little bit with her finger nail, but didn’t think it was worth the effort, and didn’t like the taste. Come to think of it, we never paid the man for his delicacy.