The Prodigal Chef

The summer ran away with me! I was so busy running up and down the coast to sign cookbooks and plan my wedding that I haven't had time to blog.

But the summer is over, and I'm back.

I'm working on a new cookbook, all about crab, and this is one of the recipes I'm playing around with. Like most of the things I enjoy making, it's simple and delicious. Sure, you could make a dishe with fifty ingredients and nearly that many steps, but really: who has the time? When you're cooking with - or for- that special someone, you want to balance the time in the kitchen with time to talk and take a walk and... well, whatever else comes to mind.

This is a great salad for a weekend afternoon. You can find Dungeness crab in the markets all year around, and check out this great photo tutorial I found for preparing octopus: Octopus Techniques. Okay, so I take back what I said about "easy" - but hey, at least you'll be having fun!

Fall Salad of Octopus, Crab, and Baby Red Potatoes

- 1/2 pound baby red potatoes, boiled and cooled, then cut into quarters
- 1/2 small Bermuda or Maui (sweet) onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons ponzu sauce
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Sea salt
- 4 ounces Dungeness crab meat
- 1 small octopus, boiled and sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives, plus extra for garnish
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon, cut in half
- 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

In a small bowl, combine the potatoes and diced onion. Toss with ponzu sauce, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside for about 10 minutes to let the flavors combine.

In another bowl, combine the crab, octopus, garlic, parsley, and chives. Gently toss with olive oil. Squeeze the lemon halves over the top and toss again. Finish with red pepper flakes. Add the dressed potatoes and onions; toss to combine. Only add more salt and pepper after you have tasted the salad, because it will likely not need any more.

Arrange on a large salad plate and garnish with chives. This salad can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 24 hours without significant loss of flavor, but it tastes best when it is eaten within 2 hours of preparation.

Serves 2.

Comments

[Merit]

Hi Andrea: What are great story. I always love reading your blog.

Merit

[Antonio]

wé frà o casatiello manch'o sai fà. Va fa e purpett' nun si buone proprio.