Grey weakfish with summer vegetables

It is the time of the year for the wonderful grey weakfish (mylokopi in Greek) which has a whitish firm flesh and complex taste.

I fillet the fish and leave it in olive oil for an hour or so. In the meantime, I prepare my vegetables.

I start with these wonderful round zucchinis, which I slice, and continue with slicing eggplants, red and green peppers.

I put them all in a big baking tray, sprinkle generously with olive oil and cook them in the oven for 45 minutes at maximum heat, so that most of the moisture goes away but the vegetables retain their shape and texture. A key to the success of the dish is the taste of the vegetables. I therefore add in the middle of the cooking time some fish stock to enhance the flavor. It works!

Note that I do not use tomato in the mix. This is because I use fried slices of tomatoes sprinkled with parsley as a component of the dish. Ideally, it would be green fried tomatoes, but it is hard to find green tomatoes in the Greek market, so I had to do with the available red ones!

It is time to sauté the fish. Very high heat, skin side down, two minutes maximum on the skin side, 30 seconds on the other side, and out. Serve immediately on a bed of a sauce made with the fish stock (head and all bones) and the vegetables in it (onions, carrots).

The dish is a layered construct, with the fish fillet one before the top, the top being the fried tomato. Sprinkle generously with parsley and consule immediately.

It is an extremely light and tasty dish, that will satisfy almost everyone.

Enjoy it with a robust Greek white wine, like asirtiko!

Octopus on a bed of mixed vegetables – Χταποδι επι στρωματος αχταρμα λαχανικων

Today’s dish is fresh and simple, with the flavors of the spring and the sea.

After all the meat eating of the Easter celebration, I wanted to taste something simple and yet tasteful.

I found a wonderful octopus in my fisherman, and I immediately decided to use it in my dish.

I put the octopus in a pot with a couple of bay leafs on very low heat, cover it  and let it cook for a couple of hours. You do not need to put any water in,  the octopus has plenty of water, and it comes out nicely as the heat is very gentle, it almost caresses the flesh.

While the octopus is cooking gently and slowly, I prepared a melange of chopped zucchinis and eggplants, parsley and a bit of dried chili pepper.

I put all the vegetables in a big pan with browned onions and added some of the octopus liquids. After 15 minutes I added cherry tomatoes for extra flavor.

Serve the vegetables in a way that forms a hexagonal bed and on top place slices of the octopus. Finish the dish with a spoonful of the vegetables.

It is a light, wonderful dish that goes very well with a nice glass of chardonnay. Enjoy!