# Octopus,bacon & foraged greens.



## moikel (Jan 24, 2014)

Haven't posted much because I have been away from Sydney until the last week.

I am making dinner to take to girlfriends house tonight,so it has to be a reheat job there.

So I ran down to the big fish market ,its summer the fish selection is way broader.

So is it going to be barramundi?













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Bit tricky to do a whole fish.

So that rules out Leah's favourite as well,Cobia.













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And this guy













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 And these guys













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 So its octopus,













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I have made this before,I use my own bacon,leeks,garlic,lemon,white wine& fennel. . 

Fennel is out of season but the wild version is in good supply.It grows up near the railway line.All stalk,tall,yellow flower.I will get through the hole in the fence & get some nice young fronds from the top of the plant. The old timers put fronds inside baked fish,or in a pasta sauce with sardines. The dry stalks go on top of charcoal fired BBQ.A green branch wound into a circle will hold your olives under the brine . 

I love all that sort of old school foraged seasonal wild stuff.

I had to go down a size in the O'pus ,that one in photo was 4kg!

I will get cooking soon. Got to go out to get wild fennel.


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## snorkelinggirl (Jan 24, 2014)

Fennel is one of my favorite vegetables.  I use it instead of celery in almost any dish that calls for celery (except when making stock), and it is also great sliced paper thin and tossed with bitter greens in a salad.  Bacon, leeks, garlic, lemon, white wine, fennel....I love the sound of all of those together.  I don't have any experience cooking with octopus, but I'm really looking forward to seeing how your finished dish comes together!

Dang, but you've got a great looking fish market!  I'd do more fish cookery if I had access to a market like yours!

Have a great night!
Clarissa


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## moikel (Jan 24, 2014)

Damn local government,can't fix busted footpaths but they can fix a hole in the fence!

Still got enough.













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## moikel (Jan 24, 2014)

It is a great market & its 10 minutes but safely out of smell range.

There were Asian tour groups there today. 

There are oysters opened to order,cold seafood & lots of fried stuff if you want to eat right there.I can't believe the size of the plates some of these little Asian guys carry to their tables let alone eat
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






.Good for them,must be cheap compared to home.

Summer means warmer currents so there is cobia,big mackerel,kingfish,as well as the more regular fish.

I love fennel,my favourite veg. But its out of season. The wild fennel fronds will give me that anise flavour.

Last night we ate at a greek restaurant,they did a great dish of twice cooked octopus on white beans & greens.Boil O first then char grill it  to order,white beans etc made separate I assume. It was a combination of really clean flavours,lemon ,garlic,olive oil,oregano,simple food done really well.


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## WaterinHoleBrew (Jan 24, 2014)

Sounds like ya will be eating good, post some pics.  Can't wait to see them and good luck.  WHB


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## moikel (Jan 24, 2014)

Yeah big guy we are watching & waiting. 













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Alright I am on it.


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## moikel (Jan 24, 2014)

OK I had 2 x O'PUS about 1 kg each.2 leeks ,2 onions ,a bit of homemade speck(cooking bacon),garlic,fennel fronds.













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I cut bacon into biggish cubes. Fried that in EVO. Took that out put onions ,leeks & garlic in.Fried until soft,good pinch black pepper ,no salt.

Took that out,put O in cut in 3,chucked in bacon skin for good measure. Let all that colour up.













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When it had enough colour,













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I put everything back in + chopped fennel tops.

Then added some chicken stock,because I had it,& couple of glasses of dry  white wine.I will simmer that for an hour.

Then cool it off enough to transport it the 40 minutes to girlfriends.

I made this dish up ,its got a bit of a mediteranean feel. That French mussels ,leeks,white wine dish.I just like the O & bacon combination,frying it in the bacon drippings hard to beat.


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## WaterinHoleBrew (Jan 24, 2014)

Looking nice, very nice...  As far as the bacon drippings go, I would probably eat my own foot if it were cooked in bacon drippings. :laugh1:    WHB


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## moikel (Jan 24, 2014)

WaterinHoleBrew said:


> Looking nice, very nice... As far as the bacon drippings go, I would probably eat my own foot if it were cooked in bacon drippings.
> 
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All vegetables are improved by bacon drippings
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





.

This dish has juice of 2 x lemons as well.White wine is out of a box by De Bortoli,they  were wine pioneers down where I grew up.

I will try to get plate shot from iPad tonight. It smells brilliant,I left the bacon skin in the pot .Old school ,cholesterol police won't approve but its about flavour. Nice silky mouth feel to the sauce.


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## moikel (Jan 24, 2014)

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Thats all in.













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About 30 minutes more on simmer.


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## moikel (Jan 25, 2014)

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That's it plated ,really nice meal. Really clean flavours,wouldn't change a thing. Left salt out of everything because O throws a bit f salt when you cook it.
It had that anise touch from the wild fennel,lovely smokey flavour from the bacon,sweetness  from the leeks.


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## africanmeat (Jan 25, 2014)

Nice very very nice .

the octopus got a lot of flavor . i love it 
thanks .


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## snorkelinggirl (Jan 25, 2014)

I love the plated shots, and what is that on the side?  Sauteed bok choy?  There is nothing like some sauteed greens to cut the richness of a meal.

I noticed 3 plates in your picture.  Exactly how many girlfriends do you have, Mick??   LOL :thumbsup:

Thanks for a beautiful post!  Have a great day!
Clarissa


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## moikel (Jan 25, 2014)

Chickory is the green. Went well with the O'pus.


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## moikel (Jan 25, 2014)

Girlfriend older son home from Medical School in Queensland . Kid needs feeding up!


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## stanjk (Jan 26, 2014)

Nice job on the O. The fish market looks great. I'll be in Sydney CBD in about 2 weeks, on holiday, and it looks like a great place to visit and have lunch. Could you give me an address/direction to it? Much appreciated! Thanks for the beautiful post.


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## moikel (Jan 26, 2014)

The easy way is to just catch the light rail from Chinatown south end of the city straight to the market,about $4 max. It's just on the western edge of the city about ten minutes.
Chinatown is really good place for lunch as well.
Just my 2 cents of course but the fried stuff at the markets is nothing special .Great oysters,cooked prawns,cooked crayfish,grilled fish.A lot of the fried stuff is imported from Asia..It's the wholesale market for Sydney as well as retail.
Anywhere near the harbour you pay for the view.Yes the Opera House is a must but its expensive to eat at that end of town.
If it was  me I would catch the ferry to Manly it goes right across the harbour costs $6 I think.You get a great view Manly is the classic Sydney beach,lovely stroll along the beachfront ,great feel on a weekday. Trip is about 25 minutes each way,sit out on the deck in the sun.
Our dollar is now 88 cents US  so you will get value  but be warned this is not a cheap city.
If you need any more information let me know.


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## leah elisheva (Jan 26, 2014)

Mick - Oh my God, this is so magnificent and beautiful!!! Where do I begin?????

First off - fantastic finished meal, photos, and all! WON-DER-FUL!!!!!! You are a Master, Sensei and food Guru and to the nth degree! BEAUTIFUL!!!

Now your Greek meal out and about sounded tremendous as well! Your fish market has such a come hither allure to me that a trip down under is mighty tempting - if even for the fish and fantastic kangaroo abundance!!!! AMAZING!!!

But your doings, step by step, were just so lovely to see - colors, flavors, textures all jumping off the screen! I LOVED THIS!!! Just LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!!!!

I imagine your dinner guests were just beyond thrilled!!!!

How very incredible to log on this morning and see such!!!

Cheers to you - great Chef!!!!! - Leah


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## bdskelly (Jan 26, 2014)

My friend,

You are so fortunate to have such a spectacular fish market close by.

Octopus. Always a good choice.  And you did the perp on the fly? Outstanding. 

Brian


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## leah elisheva (Jan 26, 2014)

- And I want those Cobia from your market too!!!!!!!!!!!!! Delicious! Cheers! - Leah


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## Bearcarver (Jan 26, 2014)

Outstanding Moikel !!!

Nothing like a great Fish Market and The Man who knows what to do with it !!!

Bear


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## moikel (Jan 26, 2014)

Glad you all liked it. Cobia is a bit of  rarity& I couldn't find it as fillets .They were $100  fish 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






! I wanted some spanish mackerel for the smoker but it was all cut into cross sections & I couldn't find whole fish. 

Our local Asian people are very particular about what they want but will pay for it. They Chinese want white flesh,mild taste stuff they can steam or braise, snapper, blue eye cod,bar cod,bass groper,hapuka all top dollar. They want mud crab,prawns & crayfish. 

I like stuff with a bit of oil,so for me its marlin,king fish,mackerel .mulloway.I am a sucker for barramundi & I love anything with tentacles.

Now I am hungry!


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## leah elisheva (Jan 26, 2014)

I agree with your taste there Mick!

And wow, pricy fish market that place is!!! But beautiful!!!!!! Very beautiful!!!!!!

Your food was superb!!!

Cheers! - Leah


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## moikel (Jan 26, 2014)

Marlin steaks were $12 a kg,great fish for the grill. But the price on a lot of premium fish was stupid. Chinese people love coral trout,from the Great Barrier Reef & other tropical places ,over priced. Bar cod cutlet was $35 a kg 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





, its great fish but I won't pay that price. 

Long w/e may have pushed prices up.


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## WaterinHoleBrew (Jan 26, 2014)

Looks like all turned out great, looked awesome..... WHB


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## moikel (Jan 26, 2014)

WaterinHoleBrew said:


> Looks like all turned out great, looked awesome..... WHB


It was really tasty ,meat was tender.Easy to do on the stove top or in the oven.O'pus is a lot of bang for your buck,clean ,dense white flesh,little waste way less than fish,easy to clean. Not much in this world can't be improved by the addition of bacon


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## foamheart (Jan 26, 2014)

Beautiful meal Moikel, You sure that wasn't the fish market in New Orleans? Oysters, shrimp, and crawfish..... only thing wrong was the octopus.

Told you before I started eating octopus in Spain, it was much different than I expected because they understood how to cook it. It wasn't tuff at all, the little I understood from the server, I thinks she was telling us it was good for a stomach ache, or maybe she meant handover...LOL But it was good.

Pretty plate, colorful greens which held there color..... Girlfriend should have been impressed!

Great job!

PS:: didn't know about salt with octopus!


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## moikel (Jan 26, 2014)

I understand the skin throws some salt,I  never add salt to any dish with O'pus. I have seen people plunge it in boiling water a few times then start again from scratch so it ditches the salt.

I like that foraged greens, must have been a cajun in another life
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





." Polk salad Annie gator got your granny"I love that song. I forage for a few greens but its to hot now for most of them.

Girl friend was impressed with meal & how little mess I made!

I think traditionally a lot of people would catch a few O'pus ,shallow diving without being pro fisherman. Bit like the guys on Duck Dynasty catching frogs. If I can get enough eaters I am going to get one of those jumbo ones,boil it ,cool it off then marinate it,simple EVO,garlic,lemon,herbs & char grill it.

Glad you liked it.


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## dirtsailor2003 (Jan 26, 2014)

Late to the party, I see! That's a great looking meal Mick! Love Octopi.


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## leah elisheva (Jan 27, 2014)

I'm still salivating! Fabulous! Cheers! - Leah


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## dirtsailor2003 (Jan 27, 2014)

Mick your post inspired me to whip up a batch of octopi for dinner, what do you think?













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## snorkelinggirl (Jan 27, 2014)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> Mick your post inspired me to whip up a batch of octopi for dinner, what do you think?
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:rotflmao:
Now THAT is some classic American cuisine!!  Great job on the presentation too!

Love it, Case.  Thanks for the laugh!


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## moikel (Jan 28, 2014)

I think its really clever. Were they tasty?


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