Betcha didn't know all 3 forms of plural "octopus" was correct!! (insert suleyman and...progeny joke here). Here's what I made on Fri for dinner: slow simmered baby octopuses in a spicy tomato reduction with asparagus, scallops, shrimp, and squid.
back story! :)...so all day Friday @ work I had this major fixation with making seared scallops again, but with the porcini risotto i had posted about--and maybe some baked asparagus b/c I was feenin' some greens and baked produce. And when I went to Whole Foods I saw
baby octopuses, mussels, shrimp, bass, mexican scallops in addition to the jumbo Cape Cod ones my head kind of exploded!
...and after seeing all these pictures of my friend's crawfish extravaganza and all these clam bakes on Man vs. Food in Boston and Seattle...I had all these ideas running thru my head--and remembering my flight on JetBlue a while back wherein Mark Bittman showed u how to cook octopus around the time I discovered grilled octopus (period) @ Kefi...
I paced back % forth at the seafood counter for like a good half hour and the guy at the counter thought i was nuts b/c i bought half a pound of everything :P I wisely left back the mussels for another day.
Strangely...NO FISH SAUCE in this one!! But I think in some other incarnation of this (which will resemble my mom's shrimp in a tomato/garlic thing...it's nuts...it's like casserole level thickness in sauce).
I also decided that since the octopus/seafood orgy was going to take like at least 45 min to slow simmer, I'd bake myself a version of the asparagus I used to do--but this time with shaved pecorino, lemon, and this
Borsari citrus salt I got @ Whole Foods that was particularly intriguing!
I also decided to go with white asparagus to try to break down the difference for my own palate...and with manchego cheese slivers of course. And for shiz and giggles--threw some fresh pecans in there to roast as well!! Def helped calm the flavor :)
I grossly underestimated the flavor reduction in the prosciutto (AGAIN) with the "reduced" pecorino shavings too, so the drippings mixed with the Borsari citrus salt (pretty light hand this time around) with the lemon juice was WAY intense but SO FRICKIN' AMAZING. I mean it felt like I was scrounging around for things to sop up the drippings and was a pretty big hit w/ my roomies too. The manchego melted well and balanced out the strong tart savory flavor with a little musky, "creamy" taste. Maybe a little smokey? I can't pin point the descriptor!
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"RECIPE" for SPICY SEAFOOD PASTA:
...not giving it the long sexy foodie fetish name :P...
1/2 pound baby octopus in a sauce pan with 1/4 cup olive oil, 2-3 bay leaves, lightly sauteed shallots/garlic (just personal preference to have both--and I like to put in like half a bulb or more of garlic!!) :) season as u will...dump 2 cups of halved grape tomatoes in there (I ended up throwing in about 4 roma-sized tomatoes diced in there too b/c i like my reduction really thick and tomato-y esp since I don't wanna use tomato paste).
1/2 pound shrimp (maybe less is better), 1/2 pound scallops (the baby/mexican scallops are probaby a better choice), 1/2 pound squid sliced. I seared these lightly b/f dumping them all into the pot to slow simmer for ~45 min on REALLY low heat, stirring occasionally. I tried to add in chili pepper (i usually don't cook spicy) but couldn't taste anything and was worried so I put in pepper flakes...and then cayenne pepper eventually :) It was of adequate heat, suffice to say--even for a chili n00b like me :)...
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BAKED ASPARAGUS:
wrap thin slices of prosciutto--I think stripping the normal slice into 3 long strips would be ideal. Don't be fooled that it doesn't look pretty or whatever proportional when wrapping it around the thin strips of manchego around the asparagus stalks. Shave some pecorino or parmesan or whatever other cheese u wanna play with. I squeezed half a good sized lemon over it all with a nice sprinkle of the Borsari salt. Bake @ 350-375 for about 15 min. YAY.
There was also fish. it was uneventful. There were saussages and whatnot too but my frickin' camera was acting up--they would've been quite pretty pics tho. :P
Mix it all around a little, and if you want, throw in the cooked pasta (straight from the pot with a little of the water from boiling too it's still yummy) and mix around. OR, u can saute the red onions before throwing in the pasta but I like it with a little kick and purity in its own flavor in being a little uncooked and whatnot.
If you need to, add in a little more olive oil to coat the pasta, salt & season as u will (i only used pepper, the fish sauce adds a diff kind of salty flavor), and more fish sauce! but not too much b/c you'll get the savory & bite from the capers and cheese too so keep it on the bland side. I also don't add the sliced/shredded basil until the end but I add a little in the beginning to let it wilt and add some flavor. Mix in the other half of the shredded basil, mix mix mix!
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