Octopus and Fava Bean Salad

Octopus is a old favorite. Then again, having to clean, prep and cook it, is a cumbersome task. The only octopus I eat is in restaurants...that is until I find some at Costco! This cooked package is gem that has made life so much easier. 

Fava beans are dunked in boiling water and peeled. Octopus is patted dry and grilled. The dressing is a concentration of preserved lemon paste, EVVO, salt and pepper. There you go...exotic seafood simplified.

OCTOPUS AND FAVA BEAN SALAD

Serves 6

4-5 cooked Octopus tentacles

2 cups Fava Beans (fresh or frozen)

3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil plus more for grilling

1 tablespoon Preserved Lemon Paste (see notes)

2 Garlic cloves, minced fine

Kosher Salt 

Ground Black Pepper

Parsley leaves

Boil water in a deep saucepan.

Add fava beans to boiling water. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then drain and cool beans. 

Remove outer thick skin from beans. 

Pat octopus legs dry. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with a little olive oil.

Heat grill. 

Grill octopus till you get char marks on all sides. 

Remove from grill and cut into bite size pieces.

Whisk dressing with EVOO, lemon paste, chopped garlic, salt and pepper.

Place favas and octopus chunks in a bowl.

Season with salt and pepper.

Pour lemon dressing over beans and stir well.

Garnish with parsley.

Serve cold or at room temperature.

NOTES

Preserved lemon paste is a product unto itself.  I cannot recommend an adequate substitute. Amazon has the product I use.

What's not to love! The family gives it a resounding yes!

Charred Snap Peas

After many debacles in the kitchen I decide to end the week with something I cannot screw up. Do not ask me about the disasters. Too many to expound! So a plate of charred veggies, something I can make in my sleep should end that streak....I hope!

Farm stand velvet green sugar snap peas should stand up to a steadfast char. Sauteed with garlic chips, Biber chili flakes and sesame seeds, peas will.....must taste good? Yes they do. Relief ensues..... 

CHARRED SNAP PEAS

Serves 2

2 cups Sugar Snap Peas

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

3-4 Garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Kosher Salt 

Ground Black Pepper

Chili Powder, coarsely ground ( I used Turkish Biber Chili Powder)

Sesame Seeds, lightly toasted

Trim, wash and pat dry snap peas.

Heat oil in a saucepan. 

Add garlic slices. Allow garlic to color slightly.

Throw in peas and saute over high heat till peas have some burnt surfaces. Stir often. Garlic will turn crisp as you saute. 

Season with salt and pepper. 

Spoon onto a plate or bowl. 

Sprinkle chili powder and sesame seeds over peas.

Serve hot. 

Simple flavors. Easy prep. So delicious!

Fried Mushroom Rice Paper Rolls

Instagram is a rabbit hole that occasionally sprouts an intriguing recipe. And what I make today is one of those that look oh so easy...My bad. The video compilation look like a charm. Simple images morph into drool worthy edible bites. And I fall victim to that magic.

Lots of sauteed garlic bits, chopped mushrooms and beet greens splashed with a little soy and Worcestershire sauce make up the filling. Rice paper is dunked in water. A finger of mushroom mounds in the center. The rice paper is then rolled into a cigar shape. I make a few that I stack on the wooden cutting board. First mistake!!! When I pick them up to be shallow fried, they stick to the board....aargh. The ones on the granite counter come off easily. Go figure! I manage to pry them off and shallow fry them. Second mistake!!!! I place too many in the pan and they start to stick to each other...aaargh. It takes a lot of maneuvering to fry these upstarts.  I go easy with the next batch and they are fine. The fried rolls are piled onto a plate. Third mistake!!!! They still stick together... for heavens sake, how much worse could this get....

How do they taste? Not too bad. A little chewy. The spicy dipping sauce made with chili crisp and Thai sweet chile sauce gives them a much needed kick. Moral of the Insta story...one man's easy could be another person's tasty disaster.

FRIED MUSHROOM RICE PAPER ROLLS

Serves  4

3 Garlic cloves

6 large cremini Mushrooms

1 cup sliced Greens (I used Beet Greens)

2 tablespoons plus more Canola Oil

Splash of Soy sauce

Splash of Worcestershire Sauce

a Pinch of Salt 

Ground Black Pepper

7-8 dry Rice Paper Rolls

1 tablespoon Chili Crisp

2 tablespoons Thai sweet Chili Sauce

Mince garlic fine. 

Clean and chop mushrooms into small chunks.

Wash and slice greens into slivers.

Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a saucepan. 

Add garlic and saute till light brown.

Drop mushrooms and saute for a few minutes.

Add greens to saucepan and sweat veggies for 5-8 minutes. 

Season with soy, Worcestershire sauces, salt and pepper. 

Keep aside to cool.

Put warm water in a large bowl.

Lightly oil a plate.

Dunk rice paper in water for 10 seconds.

Remove paper from water and place on board. 

Place a heaping tablespoon of filling on the paper. 

Fold bottom half over the filling. 

Then fold the sides onto the folded half. 

Roll the paper going forward. 

Place roll on oiled plate. 

Repeat with the rest. 

Pour enough oil to cover the base of a nonstick pan.

Heat over high flame. 

Gently place 3 or 4 rolls in oil and fry till both sides are golden. Watch out for splattering oil!

Remove from the pan and blot them gently on paper.

Make a dipping sauce by whisking chili crisp and sweet chili sauce. 

 Serve fried rolls with dipping sauce.

Let this attempt be a warning to the adventurous soul. As for me, I probably will not make these again. Then again if you an intrepid person...do what you have to.

Beet and Mushroom Pasta

Beet and mushrooms with pasta? An unlikely combination! But it does work astounding well. It is immensely satisfying. It is filled with healthy veggie components. And it looks pretty darn good. Let me start by saying there is a lot of chopping involved, so use a food processor for best results.  A whole raw beet is pulsed along with its verdant green top. Garbanzo beans give the sauce building blocks. Cremini mushrooms become a quiet base. Lots of garlic adds flavor. Then you add that umami touch...miso paste. Voila, an amalgam of earthiness that gives any pasta a unique brightness and complexity.

BEET AND MUSHROOM PASTA

Serves 4

1 Beet with greens

1/4 white Onion

6-7  Cremini Mushrooms

6 Garlic cloves

1/2 cup cooked Garbanzo beans

1 teaspoon Chili Powder

2 tablespoons Miso Paste

2+2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 teaspoon Butter

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

8-10 oz Pasta

Romano Cheese

Clean mushrooms. Quarter them and add to food processor bowl. Pulse till chopped. 

Scrape mushrooms into a bowl.

Wash and scrub beet well. Trim root end and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Cut greens as well.

Drop into bowl of food processor. 

Add 3 garlic cloves and onion to beets. 

Pulse till beets are finely shredded.

Scrape beets into bowl with mushrooms. 

Add garbanzo beans to food processor. Pulse till you get a rough paste. Scrape beans into bowl with beets and mushrooms.

Add chili powder and 1 tablespoon of miso paste to veggies. Stir to mix. It doesn't matter if the miso stays solid. It will melt when you saute the veggies.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a nonstick pan. 

Spoon veggies into oil and saute till water has evaporated. Keep stirring till the bottom of veggies turns light brown anywhere between 8-10 minutes.

Push the veggies outward in the saucepan. 

Add remaining olive oil and butter to the center of pan. 

Slice remaining 3 garlic cloves thinly. 

Add them to the center of the pan along with miso paste. Stir till garlic starts browning. Mix it into the veggies. Keep aside till pasta is ready.

Heat 4-5 cups of water till boiling. 

Season with salt and add pasta to water. 

Cook till done. Save 1 cup of pasta water. Drain pasta and return to pan.

Heat veggies over a low flame. Add pasta water to veggies along with salt and pepper. 

Let sauce simmer for 2-3 minutes, them pour over cooked pasta. Toss well. 

Serve with plenty of Romano cheese. 

A bowl of red delicious pasta needs only a fork and good appetite!