Spinialo

Spinialo is a traditional seafood dish originating from the island of Kalymnos. The dish consists of fouskes, sea squirts that are marinated in a bottle of seawater. These primitive marine vertebrates usually attach themselves to shells and rocks, and when cut in half, fouskes reveal a soft flesh with a strong and bitter flavor and a texture that's similar to scrambled eggs. Spinialo was originally a fishermen's dish, made in wine bottles filled with a dash of olive oil, seawater, and fouskes. The combination was typically served on barley rusks drizzled with lemon, and it was used as a dish eaten on long sponge diving trips. Scallops, mussels, devil fish, or sea urchins are also often added to the mix. Nowadays, spinialo is served as an appetizer in some taverns and restaurants in Kalymnos.