I grant you that cephalopods are an acquired taste. Most, if not all Mediterraneans, love eating squid & octopi, especially as mezes or tapas so this diary should really appeal to those who appreciate these tentacled delicacies. Next week will be all about shrimp and the week after will feature crab & lobster.
In all of these seafood diaries I strive to point out to sustainable produce, one that is either farmed ethically or properly wild-caught as long as it's not on the endangered species list here (the Monterey Aquarium provides one of the best & up to date list, so visit it before you purchase your seafood.)
Happy Earth Day!
One of the best news I've heard was of Trader Joe's sudden change of heart: they will only sell sustainable foodstuffs from next year. The CEO deserves a round of applause. If only the rest would follow!
If you haven't eaten squid or octopus, don't worry, you're not alone. It's only during the last two or three decades that squid became available in some restaurants (apart from the Mediterranean & Japanese eateries) and in supermarkets. For squid look out for frozen tubes, already cleaned and very handy to slice. Check the provenance first: make sure that it comes from a reputable country; for example, some Thai, Vietnamese & Malaysian shrimp & squid farms have ruined coastlines by manipulating mangroves resulting in severe pollution and habitat destruction. The ultimate goal of aquaculture should be to create a sustainable industry and not destroy the environment for the sake of making more money. Like other cephalopods, squid mature quickly and reproduce at an early age. This means they recover faster from any overfishing that might occur than other fish that mature more slowly.
Octopi are large molusks that have evolved entirely out of their shell. They are closely related to squid, cuttlefish, the nautilus (which still has it's shell) and the extinct ammonites that left heaps of their fancy shells in the fossil record.
Octopus is low in fat, high in niacin, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin B6 and zinc; also very high in iron, selenium and vitamin B12. The best kind is caught between the rocks and the shore because they feed on algae and small fish. Frozen octopus is quite good to work with since fresh octopus spoils quickly and because it's not expensive it is rarely shipped by air. Like the squid, octopus does not suffer noticeably when it is frozen. In fact there may be some benefits to frozen octopi: it doesn't hurt the flavor at all, and it becomes tender a lot faster.
According to a Spanish friend octopus farming is still in its infancy and output is limited. Technology for rearing octopuses is still embryonic since it is still not possible to reproduce the full biological cycle. The best way to eat it, IMO, is to serve it the way the Greek fisherman does it: grilled over a slow barbecue, and served with lemon wedges. In Australia, the land of "barbies", octopus is quite popular. Here is my favorite way of serving it:
Barbecued Octopus Greek Style:
the classic image that comes to mind when I think of Greece is sitting by the seaside, with a large glass of ouzo in one hand and a plate of freshly grilled octopus in the other. Try the following for your next barbecue party - for 6 to 8 persons you will need 3 pounds of frozen octopus (the baby kind, cleaned up), a glass of virgin olive oil, some crushed oregano, salt & pepper to taste. First defrost the octopus and when it reaches room temperature, drop into a large pot of salted boiling water and cook for ten minutes over low heat. This will make the barbecue job a lot easier. Drain and cool under cold water tap. Coat with olive oil, a pinch of sea-salt and a few turns of the black pepper mill. Add the crushed oregano and throw onto the barbecue for 30 minutes or until it's cooked to your liking (octopus loses a lot of its volume during cooking, so expect that the finished product will look like quite a bit less than the original quantity.)
This goes well with a potato salad, a green salad and copious amounts of Ouzo!
I think I may have been the first chef to serve black octopus risotto in Sydney. I asked my fishmonger to keep the ink and used it to color the risotto. If you're familiar with making risotto then this is the ticket. It demands patience and you need to tend it carefully. It is, I might add, well worth the effort, it's not something that you will find in your local restaurant or supermarket.
Black Octopus Risotto:
for 6 to 8 persons you will need 2 pounds of baby octopus, de-sacked and cleaned up, 2 red onions, chopped up, 6 garlic cloves, finely minced, squid ink (which can be purchased in good delis or supermarkets), 2 or 3 carrots, cut up in small cubes, 1 leek, finely minced, 3 or 4 beef tomatoes, chopped up, a handful of flat parsley, 3 to 4 bay leaves, the juice of 2 lemons, a dash of olive oil, 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan, 3 cups of dry white wine, 1 pint of shellfish stock (this can be substituted with clam juice), 3 cups of Arborio rice.
Cut up the octopus into little bite sizes. If you have a pair of kitchen shears that would be half the battle. Heat the olive oil in a large pot and drop the onions, the garlic, the carrots and the leek. Cook for 2 minutes and add the octopus, beef tomatoes, bay leaves and lemon juice. Pour 2 cups of the dry white wine over it and cook slowly for 20 minutes. Now add the rice, the squid ink and the rest of the wine and cook until all liquid is absorbed, 5 to 7 minutes. Then add bit by bit the clam juice or the shellfish stock, cooking and mixing with a rubber spatula for a further 30 minutes. Add the parsley and the grated Parmesan cheese. Correct the seasoning and serve. The taste should be memorable.
Squid flesh takes only a few minutes to cook, changing from translucent ivory to opaque, milky white. It has a delicate shellfish taste, but becomes rubbery and unpalatable if overcooked. Squid fisheries are the most ecologically sustainable due to high reproductive rates, short lifespan, and also the fact that the biomass of squid has somewhat increased within the food chain despite larger predators like sharks, tuna et cetera. Squid may be one of the greatest untapped sources of protein in the marine environment: scientists have found that the proteins contained in squid meat are the same kinds of proteins found in fish meat, and are equal in nutritional value. Squid also contains all eight essential amino acids in nearly proportioned quantities.
Calamar a L'Armoricaine:
No, it's not American, it's Armorican, named after a region of the Western province of the Finistere in Brittany. It is akin to a spicy stew and one must use a liberal amount of Cognac in this dish to do it justice. I remember my great grandmother sneaking in a dash of Pernod or Ricard into the stew, to make it more like a Provencal dish, I guess. Either way, it was delicious.
For 4 to 6 persons you will need 2 pounds of squid tubes, and if it comes with the tentacles, it's great news; 2 large white onions, chopped up finely, 16 ounces of button mushrooms, 4 garlic cloves, minced, 4 bay leaves, a handful of flat parsley, 1 pint of passata, half a pint of fresh cream, a glass of Cognac, 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, and a cup of clam juice (or shellfish stock). And, of course, a dash of olive oil!
First cut up the squid into either rings or julienne, whichever you prefer. In a large pot, over a medium heat, pour some olive oil and throw in the onions, garlic, bay leaves, and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the mushrooms and the squid. Cook for 5 minutes and pour the Cognac. Add the cayenne pepper, parsley, and pour the passata , mixing well. Let it cook slowly for a further 5 or 6 minutes and add the cream, and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve with a rice dish. Or if you wish, add some cooked baby potatoes 5 minutes before it's finished cooking.
One more? Stuffed Squid with Vegetable Mirepoix:
though it may look hard to do, it's quite simple. For 4 to 6 persons you will need 4 or 6 squids, medium size (around 10 ounces each); 2 carrots, 1 leek, 1 eggplant, 2 bell peppers, a handful of spinach leaves, 2 ounces of corn, 2 ounces of pine nuts, 46 ounces of fresh breadcrumbs, 2 whole eggs and some olive oil. For the sauce it's simple: 2 pounds of tomatoes, cut up, 2 onions, chopped up finely, 6 garlic cloves, finely minced, 1 cup of dry white wine, a pinch of thyme and a pinch of oregano. Salt & pepper to taste.
Cut up all the vegetables in tiny cubes (mirepoix) and set aside. Start the sauce: in a large pot, pour the oil and add the onions & garlic, cook for a couple of minutes and add the chopped tomatoes, the thyme & oregano and the wine. Cook over slow heat with lid for 30 minutes. Check salt & pepper.
Preheat the oven to 220 Celsius (428 Fahrenheit).
In another cooking pot, pour a little oil and throw all the vegetable except the spinach and pine nuts and cook for 5 minutes. When done take out and put into a mixing bowl. Add the spinach leaves and the pine nuts. Mix well and add the 2 eggs and breadcrumbs. You have made the stuffing!
Check the seasoning and fill the squid tubes with it. You can close the ends with a toothpick. Place the tubes into a baking dish, pour the sauce around it, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. It is a stunning dish to serve, and quite a looker too.
For the posters who are, like me, interested in the tree of life of the cephalopod, look no further than this link.
One more item, to be classified in the OMG dept: Japan, a country not particularly friendly towards fish & shellfish population has come up with a novel idea for Sake bottles. They are made out of squid skins!