Prawn & Tomato Stew

I believe in miracles where you from
You sexy thing (you sexy thing-you)
I believe in miracles since you came along
You sexy thing...
(Hot Chocolate, You Sexy Thing)

And what can you do? One blog-free month and I get some strange mental associations, 'cause prawns, until proven otherwise, are just like oysters, lobsters, strawberries and chocolate: better when not alone.
Incidentally, this dish is signed by Donna Hay: if one must really go back to the hard life of a blogger, it's best done with style, isn't it?

Prawn & Tomato Stew
for 4-5 people

prawns, unshelled about 2 lb.
carrot 1
celery 1 stalk
onion 1
garlic 2-3 cloves
whole peeled tomatoes 2 cans
dry white wine 1 cup
olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh parsley as needed

Clean prawns and prepare a broth by boiling their shells for about an hour with peeled carrot, celery stalk, some parsley, peppercorns and a pinch of salt. Strain the broth and set aside.
Finely chop the onion, peel the garlic cloves and cut them in half. Sautee them in a tablespoon of oil for about 10 minutes until onion becomes transparent and sweet. If necessary, add a little bit of the broth to prevent sticking.
Add whole peeled tomatoes, mashing them with a fork (OK, OK, for those of you lucky enough to have fresh tomatoes already red and sweet and flavorful and delicious, forgetabouttomatoesinacan, do I need to say it? But I'm telling you anyways, to clear any doubt...), white wine and two cups of broth, and cook for about 10 minutes until the sauce thickens a bit (but not too much, remember, this is a stew!). Season with salt, pepper and fresh chopped parsley, then add the prawns and cook for 5 minutes longer. Serve with slices of country bread, toasted in the oven and rubbed with garlic (or not, depending on how your evening is going).

Octopus Salad

When all of a sudden you long for the Mediterranean, but everything you have in front of you is fog, dense and damp, there are three things you can do to fix this:

1) Open that bottle of Coppertone that for centuries has been lying unused in the back of the drawer, close your eyes and inhale all the way to the bottom of your lungs;

2) Watch this for the millionth time, and be moved;

3) Pay a visit to your trusted fishmonger, he's got octopus for sure.

Yesterday number one and two. Today number three and so be it.


Octopus Salad
for 3

whole octopus, net 1, about 3 lb 5 oz
bay leaves 1
celery 1 stalk
salt, pepper, parsley, olive oil, parsley to taste

I hope you can buy an already cleaned octopus, otherwise good luck with that...
Mine was frozen, which it's not even bad per se, since freezing the octopus before cooking it helps tenderizing the meat. But if you're lucky enough to find a fresh one, but no fisherman has been so magnanimous to bang it against the rocks, you can always try to face it by yourself at the sound of a meat tenderizer. For me, nothing so romantic, I just had to wait for it to thaw. Cleaned and rinsed properly, my beautiful octopus was ready for use.
I brought a large pot of water to boil with a little salt and a bay leaf. I threw in the purple creature, and I cooked it with no mercy for about an hour and ten minutes (but you should adjust the time depending on the size of your prey). When the tentacles gently surrendered to the irreverent fork, I realized it was time to put an end to the torture. I turned off the heat and let the poor octopus cool down in its cooking water.
In the meantime I was able to forget about this whole nightmare and I perfumed my hands chopping up a bunch of parsley and squeezing the juice of two lemons. I made a very simple dressing with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, to which I added the finely chopped parsley.
I then (re)took courage, and caught the octopus from the pot, searching for it in a now dark liquid. I held it for several minutes under running water trying to eliminate the skin as much as possible (ie... I was flaying it!). At this point, I cut it into pieces and put them in a bowl. I then reached for the fridge and took one harmless celery stalk, cut into small cubes and mixed them with the octopus. I seasoned it all with the olive oil and lemon dressing, sprinkled it with another pinch of black pepper and a little more parsley, tossed it one more time and that's that!