Sea-Inspired

Grilled Octopus Salad With Orange + Date Dressing

Ingredients:

Octopus, cleaned, whole 600g Maltese oranges 2 Carrot 1 Whole onion 1 Whole bay leaf 3 leaves Fennel seeds 1⁄2 tsp Green onion 1 whole Black pepper Pinch Dates 5 pitted Honey 50g Olive oil 100ml Salt to taste

Method:

In a pot full of water place the octopus, carrots, onions, bay leaves, and fennel seeds and bring to a boil. If the octopus was frozen prior, boil it for 1 hour over high heat.

In the meantime remove the rind from the oranges and segment the oranges. Try to do this over a bowl to reserve some of the juice.

Finely chop the dates and green onions and add them to the bowl with orange juice. In the bowl add the honey, olive oil and black pepper and mix well. Once the octopus is tender, remove from the liquid, and cook on the grill till golden brown.

Serve the octopus with the orange segments and dressing or toss together for an awesome salad. >

Wine Pairing: Isis DOK Malta is made from hand-picked, locally grown Chardonnay grapes. It has a fresh, complex bouquet of exotic fruits with gentle floral notes, and a well-structured, citrus taste with a long, pleasantly acidic aftertaste. For more info about Meridiana’s range of wines www.meridiana.com.mt Trade Enquiries S. Rausi Trading T: 21330447 E: info@srausi.com

Sea Bream Saam (Left)

Serves 2 Prep time 1 hr Cook time NA

Sea bream fillets, skin removed 300g Sugar 20g Salt 20g Sesame oil 1 tsp 6 large leaves Butter or romaine lettuce leaves

For the slaw:

Cabbage 150g Onion 100g Carrots 100g Soy sauce 2 tbsp Olive oil 1 tbsp Honey 1 tsp

Garnishes:

Cucumber slice (15 slices) Onion slices (15 slices) Radish slices (15 slices) Dill leaves (10 sprigs) Coriander leaves (10 leaves) Parsley leaves (10 leaves) Mint leaves (10 leaves)

Method:

Cut the seabream fillets into long strips and add the sugar and salt. Mix well and leave this in the fridge for 2 hours to marinate.

After the 2 hours have elapsed, remove from the bowl and rinse in some fresh water. Add the sesame oil and reserve for later. For the slaw, chop the cabbage, onions and carrots into thin strips. Add the soy, olive oil and honey and mix well. Leave the mixture to sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

Prep your garnishes and leave aside.

To serve, place the slaw in the middle of the leaf and top with the seabream. Add a few slices of the garnish vegetables and a few leaves to every leaf.

You can choose to either leave them as a ‘taco’ or wrap them in a traditional manner. You can also leave everything separate and let people put their own together for an awesome dinner party meal.

Jacket Potatoes with Prawn Topping

Serves 5 as a snack Prep 30 minutes – Cooking 1 hour

Peeled king prawns, de-veined 10 Small potatoes 5 each Cucumber 100g Spring onion 2 each Lemon zest grated 1 tsp Egg, yolk 1 Olive oil 1 tbsp Mustard 1/2 tsp Salt Watercress to garnish

Method: Boil the potatoes in heavily boiling water, this should take around 30 minutes. Once cooked remove and leave to cool to room temperature.

Gently roast the prawns over a medium heat, roughly 2 minutes on each side, giving little colour. Leave to cool and chop into small cubes. Transfer to bowl.

Chop the cucumber also into small cubes and slice the spring onions into thin strips, greens and all. Transfer these into the bowl with the prawns.

Cut the potatoes in half and slightly hollow out the inside with a teaspoon. Place the insides of the potatoes into the mixing bowl with the prawns and such.

Add all the other ingredients to the mixture and mix well.

Stuff the potatoes with this mixture and place them either in the oven at 180 celcius for 20 minutes or on a BBQ grill on a low heat and covered for around 30 minutes.

MEXICAN MICHELADA

Ingredients:

Ice Tajin (or mild chili powder mixed with salt) 400ml Clamato juice (or tomato juice) 1 half pint of Cisk lager 2 limes 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp soy sauce 2 tsp Mexican hot sauce

Serves: 2 cocktails Prep time: 5 minutes

Method:

Place some tajin onto a saucer. Cut one of the limes into wedges, and run a lime wedge around the rims of each glass. Then dip the glass rim into the tajin to coat well. Fill the glass with ice, divide the ingredients into each glass, and serve with a squeeze of lime, and pinch of tajin into the glass.

BBQ LUCERTO STEAK SANDWICH

Makes 8-10 sandwiches Start to Finish: 1 hour

1.2kg Lucerto (Beef) London Butcher Mosta 4 sprigs of Rosemary Salt and pepper 2 loaves Maltese bread, sliced 1 green lettuce, leaves picked 1 cucumber, sliced 1 jar (120g) of horseradish, chutney or Dijon mustard

Method:

Bring the meat to room temperature and season with salt and pepper, while you prepare your BBQ. Toss the rosemary onto the hot embers to flavour the meat while it roasts. Grill the whole cut of meat for 12-15 minutes on each side, about 35-40 minutes of total cooking for a mediumrare finish. Leave to rest for a further 15 minutes before slicing.

Prepare your sandwiches with the slices of cucumber, lettuce leaves and helpings of your sauce of choice. Fill with a few thin slices of the beef - and enjoy an easy outdoor BBQ lunch to feed a crowd!