Spiedini di Gamberi al Limone

The fishing villages along Sicily's coast produce some of the finest seafood in the Mediterranean, and the cooks there have learned the most important lesson: do not interfere. When your shrimp come from clear waters and your lemons grow on the hillside above the harbor, your job is to step aside and let the ingredients speak.

These spiedini require three things: excellent shrimp, good lemons, and proper heat. The lemon slices are not garnish. They cook alongside the shrimp, their juices mingling with the seafood, their oils releasing into the fire. Each bite should deliver both: the sweet brine of the shrimp, the bright acidity of the lemon.

Americans want to add things. Marinades, spice rubs, compound butters. Sicilians know better. What you keep out is as significant as what you put in. A fisherman's wife on the coast near Trapani would look at you strangely if you suggested her shrimp needed improvement.