Grilled octopus with cauliflower and pork

Here's one of my favorite octopus recipes.
It mixes a different flavours and textures into one glorious bite.
As aways, very few excellent ingredients make for a great result.

Start with gently boiling the octopus in salted water with onion, a bit of garlic, bay leaf and dry chilies .

Back in Europe we add a wine cork or two ..its said to help keep the octopus tender.

Consider 20 minutes per pound, shut the heat off and let cool in the liquid.

At the same time boil the cauliflower, cut into florets.

When ready, strain it reserving the cooking water and puree it , adding some of the water if you need more liquid.Season with S&P as needed.

Once the octopus is cold, cut the tentacles or, if small, cut it in two,  plate it on a HOT grill and cook till a nice "crust" appears.

In the while prepare the dressing:

dice some pancetta and slowly saute it in a bit of olive oil in order to render the fat.

Now add minced shallot and heat up a bit and fry it.

Add S&P to taste and a generous splash of cider vinegar and keep it bubbling.

Place the pure on the plate, the octopus on top of it and  sauce it with the bubbling dressing.

I like to serve mine with some nice tender greens, like butter lettuce or baby arugula.

I think it helps fight back the sense of guilt for indulging in all that rendered pork belly fat  YUM!

Buon appetito.

NOTE: a variant I really like is to slice raw octopus extremely thin and roll it up with the cauliflower puree and dip it in the bubbling dressing.... give it a try!

More El Cheapo flies

Just bought the coolest duster at the Dollar store for 13 pesos
and, for 1 Buck and a quarter, 3 BIG bags of shitty schlappen in white, light and dark blue.....
Old spool of dental floss and some stick glue are always kicking around in my fishing bag.
Oh! The eyes ?   0.8 pesos each pair !

El Cheapo baitfish fly

The sea is a mirror; it reflects your soul

Campaigns Home - Sea Shepherd

Green ceviche with avocado and coconut

Almost as an afterthought I started taking pics of me making lunch at home... again!

So, here it is:

Start with dicing the vegetables: onion, chile, a bit of carrot, peeled and seeded cucumber tomatillos and coriander

Place the vegs in a mixing bowl and add your fish of choice, diced

Now add unsweetened shredded coconut

This is how you want to dice the avocado, so that when you scoop it out it breaks nicely

Add the avocado and a touch of garlic to the bowl

season with S&P, a pour of olive oil, a splash of apple vinegar and plenty of freshly squeezed lime juice

Oops.. didn't mention "freshly cracked" pepper  ;  )

Let sit in the cooler for around 15 minutes and you're ready to eat!

Now, a few notes that can really make a difference.

1) It goes without saying that, because you're working with a raw protein, cleanliness, sanitation and temperature control are critical.

2) When you squeeze the limes, do not press all the way down; doing so would release the oils from the inner peel and would make your preparation bitter;

3) According to how much you like the flavour of raw fish, you can change the size you cut the fish and the maceration time to affect the "doneness" of the fish.

4) Get a cold beer already and some chips and eat it!

 

Enjoy.....

Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) » Action Alert: Remove Dams on the Klamath River Now!

Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) » Action Alert: Remove Dams on the Klamath River Now!

Lavender and sea salt shortbread cookies

As promised, here's the recipe for these incredible cookies.

For once I'll use measurements, because it's quite important respect the ratio between fat and dry ingredients.

Let's get started:
1 and 1/2 cups flout
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter @ room temp.
1/4 cup + 3 tbsp sugar ( confectioners' would be better)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tsp lavender seeds, lightly smashed

Here's how you do it:
Preheat oven at 325°
Beat all ingredients BUT the flour until pale and fluffy and slowly incorporate the flour, working it till just combined.
Roll it out  (1cm thick) and cut in any shape you like and transfer cookies onto a buttered baking sheet.
With a toothpick lightly pierce the cookies all over, sprinkle  a few salt crystals on top and bake till lightly golden at the edges - around 20 minutes, BUT start checking at 12....  ; )

Remove delicately and let cool on a grill.

This is like I like to serve them, stacked with a tiny bit of bitter chocolate and chile pudding and raspberries... BUT they're awesome on their own  as weel.

Enjoy!

Tomato, peach, onion, dry ricotta and basil salad

The first heirloom tomatoes are showing up in the Baja farms and, paired with other great local fruit and produce, make for some fantastic and inventive salads... like this one:

Very easy, as it should be...
cut tomatoes and peaches into wedges, slice the purple onion very fine and toss with S&P and the very best olive oil you can get.

Plate it, drizzle with good balsamic vinegar or reduced balsamic, sprinkle a few basil leaves and freshly grated dry ricotta.

That's it, done and ready to serve!

Buen provecho!

Just in time for Christmas!

I'm having a great morning!

Missed fishing because I was too sore from yesterday's afternoon little escapade in the waves but finally  got this :

My new sticker's here!!!

Amazing how, sometimes, the littlest things can make your day!

Now, if I only could get a 40 pounder.....