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Friday, April 01, 2011

frutti di mare from the orchard of the sea


Less than thirty days ago I made some grilled octopus and it has been on my mind ever since. Then a few days ago Caterina made octopus using the pressure cooker so I had to give that a try. Results: passable. The slow poaching method is by far better but the quickness of the pressure cooker makes this an easy dish to prepare on the fly.

Grilling was not part of the plan today - well not actual charcoal grilling since I did put in the grill pan with a little oregano to smoky it up a bit. Results: passable. Nothing beats the real flavor of fire.

After the octopus was sufficiently cooked twice I chopped it up and tossed it with some garlic, chile, olive oil, more oregano some lime and a little salt and served it over rice. Results: delicious. Make yourself some octopus and if you have the time slow poach it and grill it.

21 comments:

lisa is cooking said...

This might be the first time I've wanted octopus for breakfast. The sauce with chiles and lime sounds great with it. Gorgeous dish!

Unknown said...

Ohhh that looks lovely.

Marjie said...

I sometimes think I need a pressure cooker. Then I think of how hard it would be to cram 5 pounds of whatever I'm cooking in it. So I just admire your beautiful creations instead!

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

We've never slow cooked octopus. Have to give it a try. Your plating is spectacular. I really like the sound of "frutti di mare." A very sophisticated name for a sea creature.
Sam

Velva said...

I can't say that I have ever tried octopus (sigh). Just never appealed to me, until now.

Velva

teresa said...

i never knew octopus could be so beautiful!

J said...

Mmmmm... I might try this when I buy octopus

Lea Ann said...

I dunno...Octopus is just one of those things that never seems to find it's way onto my plate.

Anonymous said...

wow, this looks incredible. it's beautiful =]

Angie's Recipes said...

wow This looks indeed delicious and beautiful!

Jill said...

Your compositions are beautiful.

Tangled Noodle said...

I remember that monster octopus! I am so ready to start poaching, pressure-cooking or grilling as many cephalopods as I can lay my greedy hands on, especially with an image of this dish in my head, spurring me on.

Vickie said...

I'd ten times rather you made me some octopus - that looks quite delicious!

Jamie said...

How to make octopus even better! Perfect, exciting flavors for a favorite! Beautiful!

Table Talk said...

Great color; I want to think it has some smokiness too. Did you use some chipotle? Hooray for octopus on the grill!

Barbara said...

I know, after having asked many times in the Caribbean, that octopus is very tough if not cooked properly. I must assume that Periyali (the restuarant in NYC I only like because of their octopus first course) braises theirs before grilling as it is very tender.
I've never made it at home (seems too unruly for a home cook, so I give you kudos for your octopus trials and errors while searching for the perfect recipe), but have squid often in salads. Of course, squid is tender.

♥peachkins♥ said...

sounds fantastic. I can imagine those flavors!

Cynthia said...

If only it was easy to relocate from one part of the world to the next. Each time I visit here, I wish I was living next door to you.

girls who like to gorge said...

Oh, wow! This looks delicious! I have always wanted to try octopus! x

Magic of Spice said...

What a stunning dish! I have never thought about slow cooking octopus before.

Heguiberto said...

Your rice pulpo looks delish! I've got to try this. I pressure cook soups, beans and it always come out pretty good. I will definitely give it a try pressure cook my pulpo just to see if I agree with you ;)
Cheers,
Heguiberto
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