Month: July 2017

It is preferable to ask the fishmonger to clean the octopus. In case you have to clean the octopus yourself, you need to return the heads like a mitten and take out the guts. Rinse then return the heads back. Take out the eyes and beak in the center of the tentacles. Rinse well to get rid of the foamy liquid that was exuded by the octopus.

1. Put baby octopus in a saucepan half full with salted cold water, add the bay leaves.
   
2. Put the saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil.
3.  Reduce the heat to medium low and let simmer from 20 to 35 minutes. Check from time to time the tenderness of the octopus by using a knife.
   
4.  Drain the baby octopus and cut them into small pieces, tentacles and heads. You may leave one octopus or 2 for garnishing.
   
5. Make a marinade with salt, pepper, paprika, soy sauce, tabasco, vinegar, and lemon. Add the cut octopus and mix well in the marinade then set aside.
   
6. In a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium high heat.
7.  Sauté the onion and garlic in the heated oil for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. Add in the chopped tomato, ginger and Stir for few minutes until the vegetables are soft. You may need to add 1/3 cup water to avoid the stickiness of the vegetables to the pan.
9.  Add in the cut octopus and let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring from now and then.
10.  Add in the chopped cilantro, mix well and turn off the heat.
11. Serve with rice or anything you like.
    

1. Soak the lentils in a cup of warm water.

2. Boil the tomatoes in a saucepan for few seconds, then remove the outer skin. Set aside.

3. Put olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add in the meat, the bunch of cilantro, parsley and all the vegetables.

4. Stir for a minute or two then add tomato paste and all the spices.
5. Stir well until the meat gets all the flavors from the spices. Take out the meat and set aside.

6. Cover the vegetables with hot water, add in the drained and rinsed lentils. Bring to boil then reduce the heat to medium low. Let it cook for about 20 minutes.

7. Put the meat in another saucepan over medium high heat and cover it with hot water. Add a pinch of salt.

8. Toss the chickpeas in the meat saucepan. Bring to boil and let cook over medium to medium low heat for about 30 to 40 minutes or until everything is fully cooked.

9. Once the vegetable are cooked, take out the celery stalks and the 1/2 bunch of cilantro and parsley. Discard them.

10. Pour the rest of vegetables in a blender and blend them or you can use an immersion blender.

11. Pour back the blended vegetables in the same saucepan over medium heat.

12. Add hot water.

13. Add in the meat and chickpeas with their water.

14. Bring to a boil.

15.  Put the tablespoon of flour in half cup of warm water. Mix well until no lumps.
16. Once everything is cooked, reduce the heat to low and pour the flour mixture in the saucepan.
17. Stir constantly until the soup thickened while it is gently simmering.
18.  Keep stirring for about 15 minutes until you obtain a nice smooth and thick soup.
19. Turn off the heat and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

20. Serve warm with lemon wedges(optional) and your favorite type of bread.