Little Cooking Tips - Seafood

Greek Octopus with Ouzo, Fennel and Olives

littlecookingtips — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 15:17:42 +0000

Greek Octopus with Ouzo, Fennel and Olives

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou.

Calories (per serving):

772

Servings:

serves 4

Cooking Time:

45 minutes

This summer, for our vacation, we went to Panos’ parents place in Evia island (also known as Euboea). Evia is the second largest Greek island and isn’t much advertised abroad.

Since it’s a large island, you’ll need a car in order to visit the dozens available beaches. Some roads are old and full of curves, because Evia has a high mountain ridge in the middle. So, in order to visit some great Aegean beaches you have to climb this ridge, called Dirfys. The beaches you will visit on the other side, if you take the time to drive there, are…simply put, beyond any description! They definitely worth the effort.

Panos’ parents have a cottage in the central-south part of the island. They have a large organic vegetable garden and lots of trees which produce an abundance of lemons, oranges, tangerines, olives, pomegranates, prunes, sour cherries, figs, quinces, medlars, blackberries, apricots…you get the picture!

Panos reading some recipes on the veranda and my shadow as I take this picture.

As you can guess, such place is simply… a paradise for any foodie! That’s why we visit the place all year round, during weekends, taking the opportunity to enjoy seasonal vegetables and fruits and get in touch with nature.

So our time was divided between harvesting veggies and fruits, tasting new recipes, cooking classic homemade Greek dishes, driving through the mountains to discover new beaches and …taking some time off work to fill our bucket! It was really quality time spent.

Beach on the Aegean side of Evia. On the top right, the mountain roads leading there.

Enough with our constant daydreaming though! Time to get back in our kitchen and our recipes Do you remember our Poll back in July? Well, the second recipe voted in the Poll was octopus with olives and ouzo. 28% of the people voted for this one, much to our amazement. We always thought that octopus is a bit intimidating as an ingredient, for people who don’t live in the Mediterranean, East Asia, Central and South America.

On the other hand, our blog’s statistics for our two other octopus recipes (Stewed baby octopus in tomato sauce with rice and Roasted octopus with vinegar) as well as your votes in the Poll have proven that octopus is starting to become popular in other parts of the world as well, including the United States, Central Europe, Russia and Australia!

Panos checking the pomegranates. Not ripe yet, but grown and getting there!

So let’s talk about the octopus recipe you voted for: Octopus with ouzo, fennel and ouzo! This is a wonderful recipe for any season, but we prefer cooking octopus in the summer. The reason is that in the summer you can also enjoy a small glass of ice cold ouzo in a sunny veranda or a garden, to enjoy the octopus with. Plus, it’s the perfect meze (appetizer) for a seafood dinner if you’re having some friends or family over. In order to really enjoy ouzo, you need a view of the sea or at least a wonderful green garden, someplace open, to gather with friends, chat and serve meze.

Here in Greece, ouzo is always traditionally served with some food. The food is usually meze. Meze (plural mezedes) are small plates of appetizers, shared among the people around the table. And this octopus recipe is a prefect meze for ouzo.

Picking up some peppers straight from the plants. On the right, a zucchini turned to squash. No harm done, we used it for a savory pie!

To cook octopus, you have to clean the inside of the sack. If you buy fresh octopus, ask your fishmonger to clean the octopus’ sack for you. If you buy frozen you don’t need to do that as it’s already cleaned up. By the way, octopus is one of those ingredients where frozen is better. Why is that? Because freezing the octopus actually makes it tender!

But even so, an octopus needs to be cooked for a long time in a pot, to become soft and tender enough. You always need more than an hour of braising/boiling. In this recipe, it will take about an hour and a half.
Another factor that makes some people thinking twice before buying octopus is its preparation. They don’t know how to cut this thing!

Defrosted in the shade, the octopus before we start cooking it.

Well, we are here to help! In this recipe, we posted many photos showing in detail how to prepare an octopus. It’s really easy. You discard a few parts and cut the rest in chunks. If you’ve never done this before, follow our instructions and you’ll definitely succeed. Feel free to send us an email if you need any clarification and we’ll gladly get back to you.

What are the ingredients used in this recipe? Well, ouzo and fennel are two main ingredients. Ouzo, like mentioned in this post for shrimps with ouzo is anise flavored and fennel is very similar to anise. So it’s a perfect combo! The fennel bulb used in this recipe also provides extra texture and is suitable for the long cooking process needed for the octopus. The other key ingredient is the Kalamata olives. We use whole organic olives and pit them ourselves. This way, they smell and taste better in comparison to the pitted olives sold in jars (usually in brine).

The fennel bulb was more tender than expected!

A little red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard along with some bay leaves, garlic and onion complement the dish and enhance the flavors. Feel free to add more or less of those, once you cook the dish, according to your preferences.

You can serve this delicious dish with some fresh crusty bread and ouzo, as an appetizer. Serve the ouzo in short old-fashioned glasses, over ice and add some water as well. Smell it first, to enjoy the aroma and drink a small sip. Then grab a bite of the octopus dish. Heaven!
You can also serve this with some French fries or short-cut pasta like macaroni or ditalini as a main dish. It’s up to you.

We hope that all of you took some time off work this summer to relax and enjoy some quality time with your loved ones!

Kali Oreksi and have a beautiful Winter Season (for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere) and a lovely spring to the lucky guys in the Southern Hemisphere!

Ingredients:

- 1-1.5kg / 2-3.5lb octopus*

- 250-280gr / 9-10oz onions (2 medium sized), in large slices or diced

- 125ml (1/2 cup) ouzo**

- 125ml (1/2 cup) olive oil

- 200gr / 7oz fennel bulb (1 medium sized), in thin slices

- 60gr/2oz whole Kalamata olives (about 15 olives)***

- 3 garlic cloves, in thin slices or minced

- 3 bay leaves

- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

- 1 tablespoon strong mustard

- 0.5lt (2 cups) warm water

* if using fresh octopus, ask you fishmonger to clean the octopus for you.
If you using frozen, it’s clean already.
** if you can't find ouzo, you can try sambuca or vodka. The taste is a bit different, so try to find the real thing online;)
*** if using pitted, sliced olives, then you need 50gr/1.7oz

Preparation

If using whole olives, then slice them with a paring knife and remove the pit. Don't chop the slices in small bits. You need large olive chunks for this recipe.

Let's see how to prepare the octopus now.

The octopus

Put the octopus on your cutting board, with the sack on one side and the tentacles on the other (pic.1). Cut the sack (pic.2) and keep it aside. Make the slice at the bottom of the sack, right above the eyes (the eyes are at the middle section of the octopus).

Grab and hold the tentacles section and slice the middle section of the octopus off (pic. 3). This is the small section with the eyes. Discard it.
Remove the beak from the hole (pic. 4) between the tentacles. Discard it.

The hole must be free (pic. 5). Slice the sack in the middle (pic. 6). We always add the sack in the food, it's clean, delicious and there's no reason to discard it.

When you slice the sack open, you may notice some membranes/parts on the inside (pic. 7). Slice those off and discard.
The next step is optional. Some people (us included) like to remove the membrane on the outer part of the sack. It's very easy, simply grab a sack piece with one hand and pull the membrane with the other (pic. 8). Do that for both the sack pieces you sliced before. If you find this part a bit tricky, you can also leave the outer membrane on the sack. It won't matter that much.

Then slice the tentacles section in half (pic.9) and then cut the tentacles apart.
Finally, make cuts 3-4cm/1inch apart the length of each tentacle (pic.10). Keep the thinner end point of each tentacle in a larger piece preferably (2 inches long).
That's it.

We know it sounds and looks a bit intimidating. But it's actually VERY easy. Trust us on this! Once you try to cut an octopus, you will succeed, and you will do it again and again with confidence.

Cooking the octopus

Add the octopus pieces in a large pot and place over medium-high heat (pic.11).
In about 3 minutes, the octopus will start releasing its juices. Stir often at first, until the juices start to add up (pic.12).

Reduce the heat medium-low (slow simmer) and let it cook for 40-45 minutes. Stir often towards the end of this period, when the juices evaporate (pic. 13). Don't be alarmed if some pieces left traces at the bottom of the pot. We will deglaze these. Add the olive oil (pic. 14) and stir to coat.

Increase the heat to medium and add the fennel and the onions (pic. 15). Cook for a few minutes until the onions and the fennel start to soften.
Add the ouzo (pic. 16) and using a wooden spatula scrape off any traces left on the bottom of the pot (deglaze).

Add the bay leaves (pic. 17) and the water (pic. 18). You can also use the water to deglaze any traces on the bottom of the pot.
Reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook for another 35-40 minutes. As before, towards the end of this period, when the water is less, stir very often.

When the water has almost completely evaporated, remove from heat, add the vinegar (pic. 19), the olives (pic. 20) and the mustard (pic. 21).

Set aside for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to develop. Grind some fresh pepper and serve!

Kali oreksi!

Tips:

1. This is a perfect meze for ouzo!
2. Do not add any salt in this recipe, the juices from the octopus are salty enough.
3. You can also serve this dish with some fresh finally chopped fennel fronds.
4. You can use a non-stick pot for better results. Always stir with a wooden spatula to avoid scratching the pot.

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Healthy

Ouzo flavored shrimp tomato pasta

littlecookingtips — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 20:15:40 +0000

Ouzo flavored shrimp tomato pasta

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou.

Calories (per serving):

595

Servings:

serves 2

Preparation Time:

20 minutes

Cooking Time:

20 minutes

This is a summer recipe we used a couple of weeks ago. It was a lazy Sunday, the sun was shining, cicadas were singing on the pine trees and we were taking our morning coffee in the balcony.

To us, the song of the cicadas is the epitome of summer. We wanted to cook something easy for lunch, something tasty and suitable for such a day. A Greek seafood pasta dish was quickly decided: Ouzo flavored shrimp tomato pasta!

It's one those easy shrimp pasta recipes that don't take long to cook, are beautiful to look at, and are packed with flavor! We made a shrimp ouzo sauce with tomatoes and cooked whole wheat spaghetti that's perfect for this dish. You can also use your own favorite spaghetti, but we suggest you try whole wheat which has a more rustic flavor for this recipe.

We added fennel seeds, which have a very similar flavor with anise. Why did we do that? Because we added ouzo in the sauce. Yes this is one of those traditional recipes using ouzo. Ouzo is a drink flavored with anise, so it was a perfect combination. You can also use anise seeds if you don't have fennel seeds, the result is near the same. Here in Greece ouzo is an aperitif served usually in the summer, with some meze, meaning some small savory dishes, with olives, sardines, octopus, squid etc. These will help you enjoy the drink slowly, in small sips, so you won't get dizzy.

Ouzo is served always with ice cubes and water. Once you mix the water with ouzo, the color changes to cloudy white. We have countless memories of a small glass with ouzo and mezedes (plural of meze) on a table near the beach:) If you ever visit Greece, make sure to try this. And be careful, ouzo is hard liquor, so it's consumed only in small quantities. It's the flavor that you want to enjoy when drinking ouzo, while you eat some delicious treats at the same time.

Organizing, preparing

But let's get back to our shrimp tomato pasta. What else did we add? Shrimp and garlic are culinary best friends. We added 3 cloves, but you can also add more and make this more like a garlic shrimp pasta. We chose whole shrimp, as we wanted to use the heads as well. What did we do this? Well, it's simple. The heads add A LOT of flavor to the sauce. You can use them to make the sauce and discard them when they have served their purpose:) Now; if you can't find whole shrimp you can use only tails. But the taste is better if you use them whole.

Panos in action. Chop! Chop!

The tomatoes for making the sauce should be ripe. There's nothing better than ripe, summer tomatoes, full of aroma and flavor. Grate them and strain them. You don't have to be very thorough, you just want to remove most of the excess water. This will help you cook the sauce faster. After all, this is supposed to be an easy shrimp pasta for two. So you don't want to spend too much time cooking this, right?

In the end, we added parsley to provide freshness to the dish. You can also add grated kefalotyri. Kefalotyri is a hard white-yellowish cheese made with sheep and goat's milk. It's salty and it's perfect with pasta. It's actually one of the two cheeses we traditionally use here in Greece when serving pasta. The other one is myzithra. Kefalotyri may be hard to find abroad though; in such case choose a hard salty cheese you prefer. Provolone is a good alternative as well as pecorino.

The ingredients listed are for 2 large servings or 4 smaller ones.
So, let's start making this easy summer dish! Stin iyia sas ("To your health", the Greek "Cheers")!

Ingredients:

- 500gr / 17.5oz whole shrimps *

- 250gr / 9oz spaghetti (preferably whole wheat)

- 350gr / 12.5oz grated and strained ripe tomatoes (use a small opening sieve to drain most of the water). The weight before straining should be about 500gr / 17.5oz. You will need two medium sized tomatoes.

- 70gr / 2.5oz tomato paste (about 3 tablespoons)

- 140gr / 5oz (1 medium sized) onion, finely chopped

- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped or minced

- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds**

- 80ml (1/3 cup) olive oil

- 60ml (1/4 cup) ouzo***

- 10gr / 0.35oz parsley, finely chopped (5-6 tablespoons)

- salt, pepper

- 50gr / 2oz grated kefalotyri or provolone (optional)

* If you can't find whole shrimp, you can also use 250gr/9oz of shrimp tails

** You can also use anise seeds instead
*** If ouzo if hard to find, use vodka. But the taste is vastly different

Preparation:

Cut the heads from the shrimp and keep aside. Peel and devein the tails. You can check here to see how to peel and devein.

Grate (pic.1) and strain the tomatoes in a sieve (pic. 2).

Add the olive oil in a large frying pan and place over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onion and the fennel seeds (pic. 3, pic. 4). Stir for 3-4 minutes, until the onion is translucent.

Add the garlic (pic. 5) and the shrimp heads (pic. 6). Stir for a couple of minutes, until the heads get a nice color.

Add the grated tomatoes (pic. 7) and the tomato paste (pic. 8). Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce starts to thicken.

At this point you can remove the heads (pic. 9). Tap them on the pan walls when removing them to avoid removing some of the sauce as well.

Increase the heat to medium, add the shrimp tails (pic. 10), stir and add the ouzo (pic. 11). Cook for 3 minutes, until the alcohol has evaporated.

Remove from heat, add the parsley, salt and pepper.

Spaghetti

Boil the pasta for 1 minute less than the directions on the package state. Drain, keeping some of the pasta water. Add the pasta to the pan with the shrimp, adding 3 tablespoons from the water they were cooked. Mix with tongs to coat the pasta with the sauce and serve. You can also add a little grated kefalotyri or provolone.

...and of course...serve some ouzo with cold water and ice (it'll turn white and it's perfectly natural, don't be alarmed!).

Kali oreksi! Stin iyia sas!

Tips:

If you want to thaw quickly frozen shrimp, in order to use it in the next half hour: fill a bowl up with tap water and let them soak. In 30 minutes they’re ready. Drain and cook.

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Healthy

Garlic butter broiled mussels in easy steps

littlecookingtips — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 16:49:06 +0000

Garlic butter broiled mussels in easy steps

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou.

Calories (per serving):

157

Servings:

serves 4

Preparation Time:

10 minutes

Cooking Time:

10 minutes

Of all the mussels recipes this has to be the easiest one: Delicious, finger-licking garlic butter broiled mussels! Mussels are among the affordable seafood and are quite easy to cook as you only need a few minutes.

Don't make the mistake and cook them longer, as they turn somehow rubbery and you definitely want to avoid that!

So, this is a quick, easy and cheap recipe with a delicious result. What's not to like about it?

For this recipe we prefer the frozen greenshell mussels of New Zealand. Nope, we didn't get any compensation for saying that; we just LOVE them. They're already cleaned, they are large, packed in their shell (only the half shell with the meat) and they're delicious!

Of course you can also use fresh mussels for this recipe (see the section bellow the ingredients), but then you have to spend a few more minutes to prepare them.

Their taste is very rich because of the butter mixing with their juices, and the garlic provides intensity in flavor. On top of that, we added parsley which brings freshness to the dish, making it impossible to resists. Even people who don't like seafood that much enjoy those mussels! They will make them question their tactic.

You can serve them as an appetizer in your parties (always a great hit), as they are very great to look at as well. You don't need to prepare ahead, just mix the butter and the garlic and throw them in the oven for a couple of minutes (if you use the frozen ones as suggested). Then you just serve with parsley. As simple as that.

We believe this dish is especially great during the summer, as a starter for a seafood pasta meal. We often have this dish before serving shrimp pasta and the combination is exquisite.

So let's see the simple recipe for making these delicious mussels!

Ingredients:

- 500gr/17oz/1lb mussels, cleaned half-shells * **

- 25gr/1oz (2 tablespoons) butter, in room temperature

- 3 garlic cloves (20gr/0.7oz), minced

- 10gr/0.4oz parsley, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup loosely packed chopped leaves)

- salt, pepper

* we prefer green shell New Zealand mussels for this recipe, which are frozen cleaned half-shells. Thaw according to their instructions, rinse and pat dry before using them.

**Preparation: If using fresh mussels: a) Tap the mussels with your fingers, and discard any mussels that remain open, b) scrub the shells under running water, c)remove any beards, d) add the mussels in a heavy small pot and add 1/4 cup of white wine and 1/4 cup of water, e) Place the pot over medium-high heat, cover with the lid, and steam for 5-8 minutes, shaking the pot occasionaly, f) Transfer to a bowl and discard any mussels that remain closed, g) when cold enough to handle, take away the empty half of each shell.

Place the butter in a bowl and add the minced garlic. Whisk well to incorporate and soften. You need to create a soft paste.(pic.1)

Line a baking dish/rack/pan with parchment and arrange the mussels on the surface (raw side up). Turn on the oven broiler (if there's a setting set it to the highest one). While this is heating up, add a little garlic butter on top of each mussel. It's about 1/3 teaspoon per mussel. (pic.2)

Put the dish/rack/pan under the broiler, on the top oven rack position (about 10-15cm/4-6in from the broiler). Broil for 2-4 minutes. The mussels are ready when the garlic-butter becomes golden and crisp.

Allow them to cool a bit, sprinkle some parsley on top of each and serve! Kali oreksi!

Tips:

1. This is an ideal starter for any meal with seafood.

2. Every half shell will contain a little juice from the mussel and the butter which is fantastic. Do not discard.

3. If you want to just suck each mussel from the shell when ready (like on oyster): you can cut the meat from the shell with a small knife and then place it inside again, before you add the garlic butter.

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Method:

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Fast&Easy

How to create a delicious shrimp curry in minutes!

littlecookingtips — Sun, 04 May 2014 07:40:33 +0000

How to create a delicious shrimp curry in minutes!

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou.

Calories (per serving):

405

Servings:

serves 4

Cooking Time:

20 minutes

As much as we love cooking Mediterranean and Greek recipes, we can't resist making some wonderful Indian dishes from time to time. One of those dishes we love is coconut shrimp curry.

This is a delicious spicy curry that's also very versatile, as you can use the same recipe and cook seafood, chicken, lamb, pork, veggies...the possibilities are endless.

One of the great things about this recipe, is that if you use shrimp, it's very quick and you can prepare your meal literally in minutes! The result is so rich and tasty, everyone will be thinking you spent hours in the kitchen preparing it! So keep this recipe at hand for any special occasion, especially when the time available happens to be limited, like in a Valentine's, anniversaries etc (as long as you other half appreciates spices).

The coconut and tomato combination, enhanced by the Indian spices creates a smooth delicious thick sauce that's magical when served with some good ol' Basmati rice on the side. Feel free to adjust the ingredients according to your liking, for example put more garlic and spices if you like a stronger flavors.

If you 're a vegan, skip the butter and use a good vegetable oil of your liking. Olive oil is not recommended for this recipe however, as its taste is strong and will be evident in the final result. In this case of course, skip the shrimp too, and use grilled vegetables.

The spices used are curry, turmeric (it's worth looking into the health benefits of this amazing ingredient) and garam masala. Garam masala is an Indian spices mix, which differs from region to region in India. It also differs from family to family, so if you're not planning on buying a garam masala and you want to make your own we provide our version's garam masala ingredients in the tips section. Make some and store it in a mason jar in a dry place. You will be using it again and again when making Indian or other spicy dishes.

So let's see how easy this is!

Ingredients:

- 250gr / 8.8oz / 0.5lb shrimp (tails), peeled and devained

- 400gr / 14oz / 0.9lb grated tomato, mixed with 1 tablespoon tomato paste (you can also use canned chopped tomatoes)

- 400ml / 1,5 cup coconut milk

- 140gr / 5oz yellow onion, coarsely chopped

- 4 garlic cloves, minced

- 2 tablespoons ghee or butter

- 1 teaspoon curry powder

- 1 teaspoon turmeric

- 1 teaspoon garam masala (see tips)

Preparation: Peel and devein the shrimp tails. Keep them aside.

Put the Ghee in a large skillet and place over medium to high heat. Once hot, add the onion and the spices (curry, turmeric, garam), and stir until translucent. The spices will be a bit toasted this way and will release more fragrant. (pic.1)

Add the tomatoes, lower the heat to medium and stir occasionaly, until thick (most of the moisture must be evaporated). Add the garlic and stir for a few seconds. (pic.2)

Add the coconut milk and the shrimps (pic.3). Stir, until the sauce thickens (6-7 minutes).
If you prefer your shrimp crispier, add the coconut milk, stir for 3-4 minutes and then add the shrimp tails, cooking them only for 3-4 minutes more.

Serve with Basmati rice.

Kali oreksi! कृपया भोजन शुरू कीजियै !

Tips:

You can make your own garam masala very easily by mixing : 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon ground cardamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinammon and 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves. Store in sealed container in dry place.

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Method:

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Legumes / Pulses / Rice

Special Characteristics:

Fast&Easy

Low Cost

Spicy

Stewed “baby” octopus in tomato sauce with rice

littlecookingtips — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 18:00:19 +0000

Stewed “baby” octopus in tomato sauce with rice

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou.

Calories (per serving):

864

Servings:

serves 2

Preparation Time:

15 minutes

Cooking Time:

45 minutes

This recipe's main ingredient is one of our favorite seafood: octopus!
Octopus is cooked in various ways in Greece, and is one of the country's most popular seafood. It's also considered a great mezes (starter/side dish).

Octopus is very popular in all the Mediterranean countries but also in many South and Eastern Asian countries, with Korea and Japan standing out as the highest fans. It may look a bit strange to some North Europeans or Americans as a food, but once you try a well prepared octopus, you’ll definitely love it. Perhaps a Mediterranean recipe, where the octopus is always chopped in small pieces and is thoroughly cooked, is a good start to try this delicious seafood. Those of you who never had octopus, don't feel intimidated, the taste it's not very strong, like the one of fish, but a rather milder one, enhanced by the spices and herbs used in its cooking.

The usual way of having octopus in Greece is roasted/grilled, served with vinegar and olive oil, accompanied by a glass of ouzo with ice! It's consumed in large quantities during the summer and the period before Easter (fasting), but it's also served all year long.

In this recipe, we suggest another way of having octopus, cooked with chopped onions and tomato sauce. It's similar to htapodi stifado (Greek octopus onion stew), and it's more of a home cooked meal. The spices used are the ones present in most of the Greek stifado (stew) recipes, and they are a classic combination of bay leaves, allspice berries and cloves. The recipe is originated from the Aegean islands, where octopus is very popular. The scene of a seaside tavern with octopus hanging in front to dry is quite common in almost all of the Greek islands.

We tried the tomato stew version of Syros island in the past, which was very tasty and we wanted to present you a similar and yet quite different recipe. We combined the sweetness of cooked chopped onions with the aroma of Greek stew spices in a beautiful thick tomato sauce and served it with long grain rice, which is our favorite way of having this food.

For this recipe we used small octopus (“baby” octopus), which is very affordable and is also cooked faster than larger ones, creating a very tender result. Baby octopus is called "moshioi" in Greece and it's about 15-20cm long from the top of the sack to the tips of the arms. You can use fresh or frozen octopus. The frozen small octopus is easier to find, and it's available all year long. Frozen octopus is always clean. The fresh one, must be prepared (cleaned) by your fish store. We will show you how to cut the octopus in the Preparation section of the recipe, it’s very easy.

When cooking octopus in a pot, it's important to remember that you need to give it some time. The more you cook it (in slow simmering), the softer it gets (more tender).
So let's start cooking this tasty Greek cuisine seafood dish!

Ingredients:

For the octopus

- 400gr/14 oz baby octopus (2-3 pieces)
- 300gr/10.5 oz fresh tomato, grated
- 200gr/7oz onion (1large), chopped
- 35gr/1.2oz tomato paste
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 2 allspice berries
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cloves
- 180ml (2/3 cup) olive oil
- 500ml (2 cups) water
- 1 pinch salt
- pepper

For the rice
- 1 cup of long-grain rice
- 3 cups of water
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 bouillon/stock cube of beef

Preparation: If the octopus is fresh, as mentioned, you need to tell your fish store to prepare it for you, as the head sack must be cleaned inside. The frozen octopus doesn’t require that.
Now, prepare the pieces for cooking:

Cut the octopus in two pieces, between the head and the arms. Cut and discard the small middle part between head and arms, where the eyes and mouth are located. You only need to keep the clean head sack and the arms.
Next, cut the head in two pieces and clean it from any internal membranes may have been left. Then cut the arms in four pairs.

For the octopus
Put the octopus pieces in a pot, on medium to high heat (image 1 below). It will start losing moisture, and you will notice some water in the pot. Stir for a few minutes until it dries out and changes color (it turns pinkish).

At this point, add the olive oil (image 2 above); stir and add the onion (image 3 above). Cook until it gets translucent. Then, add the garlic and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously. You may notice sometimes residue, left from the octopus, on the bottom of the pot at this point. You can deglaze that using a wooden spatula in the next step, so no worries here.

Mix the tomato paste and the grated tomato and empty the bowl in the pot, adding the bay leaves, the allspice berries, the cloves and the water as well. Reduce the heat to medium-low and start deglazing any residue from the bottom of the pot with the spatula. It will come off fast.
Let the pot simmering, and cover half of the it with the lid. Stir occasionally, more often when the sauce starts to thicken. Cook until the sauce is thick, then remove from the heat.

For the rice Put the rice in a bowl with water and let it soak for 30 minutes. Drain before using it. Pour the water in a small pot, adding the rice, the stock cube and the salt. Put it on high heat.

Once the water starts to boil, reduce the heat to low and stir carefully from time to time. The rice is ready once the water is absorbed.
Serve the octopus with the rice as side dish. Kali oreksii!!

Tips:

1. If you like some extra flavor, you can also add 1/4 cup (125ml) of wine vinegar, after adding the garlic and let it evaporate before adding the tomato.
2. It’s better if to use a non-stick pot for the recipe, to avoid stickiness of the octopus on the bottom.

Meal:

Method:

Cuisine:

Season:

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Healthy

Low Cost

Traditional Greek Taramosalata (Cod Fish Roe spread / dip)

littlecookingtips — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 11:27:48 +0000

Traditional Greek Taramosalata (Cod Fish Roe spread / dip)

Photo and text by Panos Diotis and Mirella Kaloglou

Calories (per serving):

282

Servings:

serves 6

Preparation Time:

10 minutes

Cooking Time:

15 minutes

Taramosalata is a traditional delicious Greek spread / dip, made of a type of caviar (fish roe) called Tarama. The fish roe is almost always cod roe. Cod roe is available in red and white (beige) variaties. The best quality of tarama is the white tarama.

This creamy dip is served as an appetizer with fresh bread and pickles. If you never tried it, this the traditional way of making it.

It's a traditional Greek dish that is always present on the table on Clean (Ash) Monday in Greece (Kathara Deftera) and usually it's the appetizer that's gone first.

The recipe below is the traditional Greek recipe of making Taramosalata! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

- 120gr/4.2oz of white tarama (cod fish roe)
- 180gr/6.3oz of bread, crust removed(around 8 slices of white bread).When you remove the crust, it'll weigh about 120gr/4.3oz
- 1 small onion (around 60gr/2oz), preferably white, chopped
- 5 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
- 130ml olive oil (1/2 cup)

Preparation: In a bowl filled with water, add the bread and let it soak. Before using it,squeeze out the water with your hands.

Using a food processor or blender, add the onion and turn it into a thick paste. If needed, you can use a spoon to push down to the blades any uncut pieces. Remove the spoon and turn it on again.
Add the tarama and blend it with the onion, until the mix is smooth.
Add 1/3 of the bread and blend.
Pour 1/3 of the olive oil and blend.
Continue adding bread and olive oil in the same manner until you use them all.
Add half the lemon juice into the processor and blend.
Add the rest of the lemon, blend until emulsified and serve.
Kali oreksi!

Tips:

1. The ingredients must be added in small portions, in order to have a beautiful and smooth result.
2. It's better to purchase white tarama. The quality and taste is better from the red kind
3. Taramosalata can be preserved in the fridge for 1-2 days.
4. It is best served with kalamata olives, pickles and fresh bread.

Meal:

Cuisine:

Season:

Main Ingredients:

Special Characteristics:

Fast&Easy

Healthy

Low Cost