Grilled Squid and Melon Salad

I can't help it. I love squid. Well, really all seafood, but squid in particular holds a special place in my heart. I know, I know, it has a weird texture and it seems natural for us to balk at eating anything with tentacles, but all this ignores the simple fact that it's absolutely delicious.

But, I have to admit, even my boundaries were tested when I saw this recipe for a grilled squid and melon salad. Maybe it's just me, but they don't seem to be natural friends on a plate.

My courage got the best of me and I ended up trying it, enlisting my roommate and friend to be my co-guinea pigs.

And it was worth it. The marinade for the squid and melon go perfectly together. That sweet fiery taste highlights both in a way that borders on decadent. And then you put another fabulous dressing, made from lime juice and brown sugar on top of that. I mean, squid fan or no, you can't deny the flavor combination in this is anything but magnificent.

So I humbly present the Squid and Melon salad. I dare you, take the squid plunge. It will be worth it.

Ingredients
225g cleaned squid
1/2 honeydew melon, peeled and cut into thin wedges
1 tbsp roughly chopped mint leaves
1 tbsp roughly chopped coriander leaves

for the marinade:
100 ml olive oil
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 garlic clove
juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp. sugar

for the dressing:
2 tbsp nam pia (Thai fish sauce)
2 tbsp lime juice
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 red and 1 green chili, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tsp brown sugar
optional: 4 kaffir lime leaves (finely shredded)


Method
Slit the squid open, cutting it into large rectangles and score it in a diamond pattern on the inner side. Leave the tentacles in large pieces. (Or, if your squid comes already cut into rings, simply score the inner side of them).

Mix all the marinade together in a large bowl, add the squid and melon and leave to marinate at room temperature for 2-3 hours.

Heat the grill to its highest setting. Remove the squid and melon from the marinade, place on the grill pan and grill for 4-5 minutes. (Or, if you don't have a grill pan, simply use a saute pan on high heat, for no more than 4 minutes). 

Transfer squid and melon to a bowl and sprinkle over the mint and coriander leaves.

Put all the ingredients for the dressing into a pan and heat gently. Pour the dressing over the squid and melon. Leave to cool at room temperature before serving.

Chocolate-Dipped Cherry, Cranberry, and Hazelnut Biscotti

This recipe unfortunately indulges my culinary tendencies to throw the kitchen sink into every baking recipe I find. In my mind, if one added ingredient makes the whole thing better, why not add five extra ingredients? Combine that with the peculiar stocking strategies of Tesco and you come up with the above recipe. In my defense, I was originally planning to make this recipe with only cherries and hazelnuts. But then Tesco was out of cherries. So I went with cranberries. And THEN I discovered the glace cherry section. Oh my. Well, when it came down to deciding between the two, my logic was no match for my "kitchen sink" tendencies. And thus: chocolate, cherry, cranberry, hazelnut biscotti. Try saying that five times fast.

(from epicurious.com, via Bon Appetit, December 1998)

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
 2 large eggs
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups hazelnuts (about 4.5 ounces), toasted, husked, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup dried cranberries (about 4 ounces)
1/2 cup glace cherries
3/4 pounds bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
Unsweetened cocoa powder

Method

Position 1 rack in center and 1 rack in top third of oven and preheat to 325°F. Using handheld electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in very large bowl until well blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time just until blended. Mix in orange peel, baking soda and salt. Add 3 cups flour, hazelnuts and dried cherries; stir until well blended. Add 1 1/2 cups flour, a little at a time, stirring until well incorporated.

Transfer dough to floured work surface. Divide into 2 equal pieces. Knead each piece until dough holds together well. Form each piece into 5-inch-long by 2-inch-wide log. Place the 2 logs on a large ungreased baking sheet, spacing about 3 inches apart (logs will spread during baking). Bake until logs are golden and feel firm when tops are gently pressed, switching and rotating baking sheets halfway through baking, about 55 minutes. Cool logs on baking sheets 15 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

Using long wide spatula, transfer logs to cutting board. Using serrated knife, cut warm logs crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake biscotti 10 minutes. Turn biscotti over; bake until light golden, about 10 minutes longer. Transfer to racks and cool completely.

Stir chocolate in large bowl set over saucepan of boiling water until melted and smooth. Remove from over water. Dip 1 cut side of each biscotti into melted chocolate to about 1/4-inch depth. Gently shake off excess chocolate. Place biscotti, chocolate side up, on baking sheets. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes. Dip pastry brush in cocoa, then lightly brush cocoa over chocolate on each biscotti. (Can be made ahead. Store in airtight containers up to 4 days, or wrap in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.)

Hobnobs

How to explain the curiously British entity that is the hobnob? Well, we could get into the entire "cookie vs. biscuit vs. digestive" argument but that would take far too long and involve way too many footnotes. Needless to say, the "hobnob" is a type of British cookie that is a bit firmer to the touch and has substantially more bite than traditional American cookies. I would on one hand be tempted to call them oatmealy (as there is a significant amount of oatmeal in them) but that wouldn't capture the essence of the hobnob.

And prior to the discovery of this recipe, the hobnob was also something I thought you could only find in the store. Like Oreos. No one actually made hobnobs. And there again, I was wrong. My roommate showed me this recipe, courteously passed on to her through the wonder that is online recipe swapping. The original website for it is here, delightfully fun and maintained by people who appear to be serious advocates of tea parties. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Now I have to apologize for my frequent (and seemingly random) switches between American and British measurement styles. Believe me,  I share your frustrations in determining what half a stick of American butter means in the metric system. I can only say that I work on both systems, employing both scales and cups at the same time. I do know that there is a wonderfully handy conversion chart at the back of the latest edition of the Joy of Cooking which has saved me time and time again. And, knowing the internet, there's probably some wonderful online conversion chart where you can find out any measurement in terms of any other. If you do know of it, please share the wealth! 


Ingredients

225g self raising flour
225g sugar
225g porridge oats
225g margarine/butter
1tbsp golden syrup
1tbsp hot water
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method

Mix the flour, oats and sugar in a bowl
Add any extra ingredients such as raisins/chocolate chips if you want
In a pan, melt the margarine, syrup and water
Once melted, stir in the bicarbonate of soda and then add to the dry mix
Mix well, then make smallish balls (the recipe makes 35 – 50 depending on size), place on a greased tray and flatten slightly
Bake at 180°c for 15 minutes until golden, then cool for a few minutes on the tray before moving to a rack.
Spread a layer of chocolate on the top (if you’re making chocolate ones)

Greek Zucchini Fritters

Martha Shulman (goddess of the NY Times "Recipes for Health" section) summed up this recipe by calling them "zucchini latkes". And, indeed, that's exactly what they are. A bit messy, and "fall apart-y", and of course fried in oil, they are delicious and only slightly guilt inducing. More than simple zucchini, the taste of the dill and feta conjures fabulous images of the Mediterranean and summertime. Despite frying, mine remained soft and tender inside. I was in zucchini heaven.

The only problem with the recipe is the necessary hour wait time while the zucchini batter...does whatever it needs to do in the fridge for an hour. I'm not sure what would happen if I fried them immediately, but I can only surmise the hour in the fridge did them good.

You'll have to eat these the day you make them, sadly. They don't withstand another visit to the fridge as leftovers, turning into sloppy zucchini messes. But hey, joy is fleeting anyway, right?

Ingredients
2 pounds large zucchini, trimmed and grated on the wide holes of a grater or food processor
Salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped mixed fresh herbs, such as fennel, dill, mint, parsley (I like to use mostly dill)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1+ cup fresh or dry breadcrumbs, more as necessary
Freshly ground pepper
1 cup crumbled feta
All-purpose flour as needed and for dredging
Olive oil for frying

Method 

Salt the zucchini generously and leave to drain in a colander for one hour, tossing and squeezing the zucchini from time to time. Take up handfuls of zucchini, and squeeze out all of the moisture. Alternately, wrap in a clean dish towel, and squeeze out the water by twisting at both ends.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and add the shredded zucchini, herbs, cumin, bread crumbs, salt and pepper to taste and feta. Mix together well. Take up a small handful of the mixture; if it presses neatly into a patty, it is the right consistency. If it seems wet, add more breadcrumbs or a few tablespoons of all-purpose flour. When the mixture has the right consistency, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour or longer.

Heat 1 inch of olive oil in a large frying pan until rippling, or at about 275 degrees. Meanwhile, take up heaped tablespoons of the zucchini mixture, and form balls or patties. Lightly dredge in flour.

When the oil is very hot, add the patties in batches to the pan. Fry until golden brown, turning once with a spider or slotted spoon. Remove from the oil, and drain briefly on a rack.

Serve with plain Greek style yogurt if desired.

Serves six to eight.

Roasted Fennel with Parmesean

I'm a bit ashamed. Clearly this a work-in-progress photo. But as the end result was consumed in a matter of minutes, I can only be kinda upset that a final version photo didn't happen. Because this also marks a culinary triumph; one in which I was able to convince my roommate that not only is fennel delicious and useful for more than just sprinkling on salads, but that it's also uber-easy to make. Although now that I have accomplished this great feat, it means that she comes home with about 5 pounds of fennel from our weekly farmer's market. At least it's cheap!

Anyway, this recipe is an old favorite of mine. When I lived in Toronto, a friend of mine introduced me to Giada de Laurentiis. I was a bit skeptical a first (I mean, she smiles an awful lot) but when I tried some of her so-called "easy" Italian, I was hooked. Hooked enough to borrow my friend's copy of her recipe book and scan in every single page. So now I have Giada's glorious food wherever I travel. And, goodness me, is this recipe glorious. Mostly because it's so simple. Literally, you slice fennel, sprinkle it with olive oil, pepper, and salt. Roast it in the oven. Add parmesan to it. Roast it some more. And you're done! Well, now that I've given you the entire recipe, I feel foolish posting it but nevertheless...

Ingredients

4 tbsp olive oil, plus more for baking dish
4 fennel bulbs, cut horizontally and into 1/3 inch slices, fronds reserved
Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese


Method

Preheat over to 375F. Lightly oil a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange the fennel in the dish.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then with the Parmesan cheese. Drizzle with the oil. Bake until the fenel is fork-tender and golden brown, about 45 minutes. Chop enough fennel fronds to equal 2 teaspoons, then sprinkle over the roasted fennel and serve.

Serves 4-6 (or just 2 if you're feeling fennel-y)