Octopus in Spain

I am always up for a new food challenge but even I began to think I may have stretched myself too far tackling a large Octopus (or Pulpo in Spanish) but in the end it turned out fine.

Holidays are always a chance to try new things. I would like to tell you that I purchased my octopus from a fisherman on this sunny quay. The truth however is Carrfour fish counter near San Agustin Gran Canaria.

Puerto Mogan Gran Canaria

Picture from Rick Steins Spanish Book

Anyway it looked fresh and fitted the bill for a healthy authentic Spanish supper. 

Of course when I opened the bag there were a number of challenges. The octopus (larger cousin of the squid) was huge and very slippery, the bowls and saucepans in our holiday apartment were small. Luckily the washing up bowl came to the rescue and the pan was just about big enough (if watched carefully!) 

Raw, washed and ready for tenderising

The trick with octopus is to either cook is fast and hot or stew it slowly. Given the size of this one I was concerned that it could be tough. Apparently the traditional tenderising method is to hurl it against rocks, not really practical without attracting a crowd

YouTube to the rescue and a handy step by step guide. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil add half a lemon then holding the octopus by the head plunge the legs into to water for 1 minute, lift out for 1 minute and repeat twice more. Then immerse the whole thing into the pot simmer for 20 minutes, turn off the heat and leave for a further 20 minutes.

Cooked, resting in handy bowl

I have no idea how this worked but at the end I simply cut off its head (sorry for the squeamish out there) there were 8 tender juicy legs. These were dried briefly (on the balcony) then fried rapidly in hot olive oil and butter.

Fried fast in oil and butter

Fresh bread, salad and Canarian sauces were all that we needed to complete the meal. These red and green mojo sauces are delicious and served with fish and potatoes in pretty much every restaurant, read about them here http://happyhealthymotivated.com/red-and-green-canarian-mojo-sauces/  and here

I am certainly going to try these sauces at home soon. 

We even had a little octopus left over for next day tapas.

Easy Easter Entertaining

There are entertaining occasions when I go completely over the top, convincing myself that I should make everything from scratch and subsequently spending hours in the kitchen.

This is not really good news for me (risk of being a martyr while everyone else is having fun) or for my guests who don't get to see me.

So I decided that Easter Sunday dinner was going to be keep it simple.

We began with tapas. There were cold meats and thinly sliced machego cheese, warm bread with olives and anchovies and king prawns fried briefly in butter with chilli and chorizo.

These dishes took no longer than 15 minutes to put together from start to finish. Interesting the tapas that we enjoyed most was a spainish omlette tortilla with red pepper and pimento from unearthed https://www.foodsunearthed.com/product/omelettes/ 30 seconds to open the packet and 1 minute to reheat.

Continuing the Spainish theme we then had Chicken and Chorizo a one pan creation from Hairy Bikers. The recipe is here http://www.hairybikers.com/recipes/view/spanish-style-chicken-bake#eOieMPXcbcYlmQI8.97 and here is a picture while it was "undevelopment"

Minimum washing up with this dish too.

Then for dessert those clever little Gu puddings were on 2 for one offer so 1 minute to remove the lids and 1 more to wash and arrange the fruit. Oh and to open the cream.

Ulster Fry

This is my 100th food blog, there have been quite a range since the 2012 Guardian masterclass with the excellent food writer and critic Matthew Fort and my resulting initial review which was of The Fellow located by Kings Cross Station http://annsfooddiary.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/eating-my-words.html

So I was going to make my first century (figuratively speaking) extravagant and elegant truly worthy of this milestone. Then I thought of something even better to tell you about.

On Easter Monday we had brunch and who doesn't love a fry up or in our case an Ulster Fry, a worthy candidate for today's food diary.

Not all readers may be familiar with what's different about an Ulster fry and a general "fry up" and there is in fact some controversy about what's in and what's not. No beans, maybe black pudding, chips could be "tolerated" (but not by us) and certainly no time for the addition of hash browns.

I found this great explanation for you by food writer Simon Majumdar of all things Ulster Fry http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zgk7mp3#z8gj7ty and it certainly is "the glories of soda farls and potato bread" brought back from a Newry trip that are the crowning glory for us.

It has to be an occasional treat but with fresh eggs from our local Kent Perry Court farm shop http://www.perrycourtfarm.co.uk/about-the-farm and those wonderful Korker sausages which I have written about many times before http://www.korker-sausages.co.uk/

Ulster Fry was a perfect Bank Holiday brunch treat and a fitting subject for Ann's Food Diary 100th edition.