Cuisine is one of the highlights of a cruise on our ships. In the Culinary School on board the EUROPA 2, our guests are shown how to cook regional delights. We're sending greetings from faraway shores to you at home - with some recipes for Mediterranean cuisine
Unfamiliar fruit, cooked vegetables, fish and meat - what better way to delve into another culture than through its food? Our EUROPA 2 also gives you the chance to make one of the dishes from a region yourself, with professional instruction and local ingredients in the Culinary School on Deck 9. Many guests on board take advantage of this opportunity. While we can only dream about faraway travels at the moment, recipes from all over the world can help us to satisfy our hunger for adventure at home. We are looking forward to setting sail to one of the most beautiful and varied seas again soon with the EUROPA 2. The Mediterranean is surrounded by land like nowhere else. The influence of different cultures has created the unique culinary world that is Mediterranean cuisine.
The food in this region is full of fish and fruit, herbs and wine. It thrives on fresh ingredients, unusual combinations and artful preparation. The cacciucco fish stew, for example, is based on a stock made of mussels and wine, flavoured with tomatoes, sage and chilli pepper. It is served with toasted white bread, which is wonderful dunked in the broth. For the crostini recipe, slices of bread are toasted, spread with an aromatic pea puree and topped with creamy torn mozzarella and buttery bacon for a rich flavour. And in the EUROPA 2 Culinary School, we fill our calamari parcels with an aromatic blend of pecorino, ricotta and basil - also great with fresh bread or potatoes.
This is actually simple cuisine - but with fantastic flavours that of course taste best when you are there in person. We are already looking forward to the first Mediterranean cruise with the EUROPA 2.
800 g Mediterranean fish • 800 g mussels or clams • 200 g squid (ready to cook) • 125 ml white wine• 1 onion • 3 cloves of garlic • 1 fresh chilli pepper• 1 bunch of parsley • 4 sage leaves • 500 g tomatoes • 500 ml fish stock • Salt and pepper • 1 ciabatta
Wash the squid and remove all the hard parts. Leave small squid whole and cut large ones into rings. Wash the Mediterranean fish and cut it into portions. Wash the mussels, discarding any that are open. Heat the wine with 250 ml water. Add the mussels, cover and heat on a high setting for 3 to 5 minutes until they have opened. Keep shaking the pan as they cook. Drain the mussels (keeping the stock). Take out any mussels that are still closed and discard them. Pass the stock through a fine sieve and put to one side.
Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Wash the chilli pepper, cut it in half lengthways, deseed it and cut into thin strips. Wash the herbs and chop finely; put some parsley aside and cover. Blanch, peel and dice the tomatoes. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan. Sweat the onions with the garlic, chilli pepper and herbs in the oil. Add the tomatoes and cook on a low heat for around 5 minutes while stirring. Pour over the mussel stock and fish stock, season with salt and pepper. Add the squid and cook on a low heat. Then add the fish to the stock and cook for around 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the bread into slices and toast them until golden in a pan with a little garlic and olive oil.
150 g peas • Salt • 1–2 sprigs of mint • 1 lemon • 4 tbsp olive oil • Sugar • Cayenne pepper • 150 g mozzarella • 50 g finely diced bacon • 12 slices of baguette
Cook the peas in boiling salted water for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse with cold water. Blend the peas with torn mint, lemon juice and 4 tbsp of olive oil in a mixer. Season the creme well with salt, sugar and cayenne pepper. Tear the mozzarella into pieces. Fry the bacon in a pan with butter until golden and keep it warm.
Drizzle the slices of bread with a little olive oil and grill on both sides until golden. Spread the pea creme on the toasted slices of bread. Then put the torn mozzarella on top and sprinkle with the lukewarm bacon.
Approx. 500 g fresh white squid tubes without skin and/or calamari, ideally 8–10 cm (3–4 inches) long (ask your fishmonger to prepare them) • 1⁄2 lemon• 50 g pecorino • 200 g ricotta • 2 tbsp olive oil • 1 small bunch of basil • 2–3 spring onions• 2 cloves of garlic • 1–2 tbsp breadcrumbs • Salt • Pepper
Wash the lemon under hot water and rub dry. Grate off a good teaspoon of peel and squeeze out the juice. Grate the pecorino and mix with the ricotta, olive oil, lemon peel and 1 tsp of lemon juice until smooth. Wash the basil, shake it dry and chop it finely. Wash and trim the spring onions and chop very finely with the tender green section. Peel the garlic and chop very finely. Stir the basil, spring onions and garlic into the ricotta mix with a small tbsp of breadcrumbs. Add more breadcrumbs if necessary until you reach the required consistency. The ricotta mixture should not become too firm. Season well with salt and pepper.
Rinse the squid tubes under cold water, pat them dry and season with salt and pepper inside and out. Use a small spoon or a piping bag to fill the squid tubes with the ricotta mixture and use toothpicks to hold the ends closed. Note: The tubes should only be gently filled and not taut. They will swell slightly when grilled and overfilling will cause them to burst. Put the filled calamari in a hot pan and sear on a high heat for one to two minutes, turn and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Take them off the heat and leave to rest briefly before serving.
