Polpo alla piastra su crema di piselli
Seared Octopus over Green Pea Purée
A simple but elegant main course, polpo alla piastra su crema di piselli (Seared Octopus on Green Peas Purée) provides a striking contrast of colors, textures and taste, with the dark purple of the briny chewy octopus set against a backdrop of the velvety, sweet bright green of the pea purée. A delight for the eye and the palate.
It may look like a 5-star restaurant dish, but here’s the thing: polpo alla piastra su crema di piselli is stupidly easy to make. Especially if, like me, you aren’t averse to using frozen peas and pre-cooked octopus. You just briefly marinade the pre-cooked octopus, then sear it quickly on a griddle or stovetop grill. If the weather permits and you enjoy the smokiness, you could grill it on an outdoor barbecue. For the purée, peas are briefly sautéed with shallots then simmered until tender and puréed in a blender. The whole process shouldn’t take more than perhaps 15 minutes at most of active cooking.
You may notice a family resemblance to another recent recipe for seared baccalà on a bed of chickpea purée. That dish employs a similar method for a dish combining seafood and a puréed legume. But I think you’ll find the actual taste and overall experience of this dish couldn’t be more different.
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Insalata di polpo (Octopus Salad)
Personally, although I love octopus grilled or braised, I think perhaps the best way to enjoy its unique qualities is in insalata di polpo, or Octopus Salad. It’s delicious, colorful and extremely versatile. And, if you use pre-cooked octopus, you can toss it together in just a few minutes.
Baccalà alla piastra su purè di ceci (Pan Seared Salt Cod with Chickpea Purée)
In this elevated version of the Roman classic Friday night special, baccalà con i ceci, salt cod stewed with chickpeas, the baccalà is marinated with garlic and rosemary, then quickly pan seared and served over a bed of silky puréed chickpeas. It’s a wonderful way to transform a humble dish into a supremely elegant one. And although it takes some planning ahead, as both the salt cod and chickpeas need overnight pre-soaking, their actual preparation is quite easy to pull off.
Spaghetti al nero di seppia (Spaghetti with Squid Ink)
The recipe for spaghetti al nero di seppia is really simple: You begin much as if you were making a basic aglio, olio e peperoncino, then add finely chopped up squid and let it braise with a splash of white wine until tender. Then in goes the squid ink to simmer for a minute or two and work its magic. This intensely savory sauce goes beautifully with spaghetti or any other long pasta such as linguine or even tagliatelle. And if you’re in Venice, bigoli would be a classic choice.