Salpicón de marisco – cold seafood salad with peppers & sherry vinegar

A salad that tastes of the sea and summer: cold-cooked prawns, squid and mussels, diced peppers in three colours, red onion and plenty of flat-leaf parsley, all held together by a dressing of good olive oil and a splash of sherry vinegar. You set it up hours ahead, chill it and bring it out when the guests arrive — a starter that sits on the table and explains itself.

Fish & Seafood Category
30 MIN Prep time
10 MIN Cook time
4 people Servings
Salpicón de marisco – cold seafood salad with peppers & sherry vinegar

Preparation

Open the mussels

Rinse the mussels thoroughly and discard any open ones that do not close when tapped. Cover and steam in a pot with a splash of water and the bay leaf over high heat for 3–4 minutes, until they open. Lift the meat from the shells and strain the liquor through a fine sieve, keeping it.

Poach the seafood

Bring plenty of salted water to a simmer. Cut the squid tubes into rings and poach for 2 minutes, then lift out. Add the prawns to the same water for 1–2 minutes, until they turn pink and are just firm. Refresh at once in iced water so they stay tender.

Cut the vegetables

Cut the three peppers and the red onion into fine, even dice and roughly chop the parsley. The more even the dice, the more elegant the salad.

Make the dressing

Whisk the olive oil, sherry vinegar and a spoonful of the reserved mussel liquor with salt and pepper until a light emulsion forms.

Marinate & chill

Fold the seafood, vegetables and parsley gently into the dressing. Chill covered for at least 2 hours, better overnight — the salpicón needs the time for the flavours to come together. Taste before serving and add a splash of vinegar if needed.

Why this wine?

The Caprice meets the cold salad as an equal: its saline, flinty minerality takes up the seafood, its clear acidity plays with the sherry vinegar without one overpowering the other. A wine that keeps the salad fresh and recalls the coast with every bite.
Good to know

Tips & insights

  • Don't overcook the seafood — prawns are done in one or two minutes, squid stays tender only briefly in the water.
  • Set the salpicón up really hours ahead: it tastes best cold and rested.
  • Sherry vinegar gives the characteristic note — white wine vinegar is a substitute, but with less character.
  • If you like, add diced, deseeded tomato just before serving for extra freshness.

The wine to pair

See all wines for this category

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