My kitchen has never had so much rest. I have been cooking since when I was six and I needed to raise my toes to reach the stove.
I’ve always managed to cook at least a meal a day, lunch or dinner, sometimes both. But it happened that in the last few months I have shut the kitchen door to open that of a morning train and start a new job and a commuting life.
Every morning I get up at 5.50 am and take a train to the sunny city of Reggio Calabria, where my job is located.
The first week was terrible, getting up at dawn without having breakfast, an hour commuting and no break until 10.30 am. I perfectly know it is not healthy, but at dawn, really 🙁 it is so early to me.
After the first two days of junk food: fried mozzarella and a terrible pizza made with all sorts of fats, I have come up with the conclusion to bring with me some leftover food.
Fortunately, my husband has taken the bull from his horn and went through the situation. Now when I came back home the stove is full of pots with every kind of food. He has finally stolen my reign and started doing what he has always wanted to. The bad side is that the dishwasher cannot contain all the things he uses. But not too bad. When you find on the dinner table: Ravioli alla Cernia with Tomato sauce, Spatula cutlets with creamed peas, you just close your eyes and enjoy the whole dinner.
Sometimes he gets up at 6.00am to prepare some surprising lunch boxes, but only when he has something to be forgiven. 🙂
This long preamble is to introduce you to our new monthly topic: Salads.
Nothing better for a commuter’s life. Firstly, salads are healthy and help you lose some size before the summer holidays. Secondly they are easy to make, fresh and nutritious.
My contribution to this round is one of my best ever spring-summer salads: Polpo con patate e olive nere con olio nuovo.
Let’s start!
1 octopus 2 kg more or less
3 big potatoes
Minced Parsley
Stalk of Celery
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Black olives
Salt and Pepper
Method
Clean the octopus by removing the innards, eyes and beak, located in its mouth. Wash the octopus well under cold running water.
Put a large pot with 2 liters of salted water on the heat. Plunge the octopus quickly three times, holding it by its head. By doing it, its tentacles will became curly and tender. Then place it on the bottom of the pot completely immersed in the water and cook for at least half an hour. If the octopus is fresh I refrigerate it for 24 hour, by doing this you can be sure of its tender texture. After half an hour, to make sure that the octopus is cooked, poke it with a fork: the meat should be tender. Once ready, drain the octopus and cut it into small pieces.
In the same water boil the potatoes into small cubes, more or less the same size of the octopus.
Put the octopus and the potatoes in a large serving dish and season with a sauce made by whisking together the oil, lemon juice, parsley a pinch of salt and some black pepper. Add the black olives and the raw celery cut into small cubes.
Serve warm or cold, as in my case in a beautiful lunch box for a fast lunch.
This is definitely one of my best dishes. All the family loves it.
Be sure to check my fellow bloggers’ recipes too. I have decided I’m going to try one per day. They all look delicious.
Monday – La Dani Gourmet: Seafood Salad
Tuesday – Turin Mamma: Valerian Salad with Eggs, Anchovies and Spring Onions
Wednesday – Italian Kiwi – Spring Salad
Thursday – Pancake’s and Biscotti – Panzanella
Friday – The Heirloom Chronicles – La Cialledda
Saturday – Flavia’s Flavor – Spring Orzo Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
See you next round.
