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| Mättu's Octopus |
During our holidays with the handicapped people in Liguria in April our friend Mättu asked me whether I have any experiences with preparing octopus. I had to say no as I am only experienced with the preparation of squid.
It was during the same holidays when I, while we were drifting through the alleys of Sestri Levante, discovered the book "Vissi d'amore e di polpo" (I lived for love and octopus). The title itself made me mad! With the question of Mättu in mind I rushed in the shop, bought and presented it to him. Mättu was delighted as there were many recipes (135 to be precise) how to prepare octopus as well as many interesting and humorous stories about Rudi Cufficari's life. Wonderful pics of ancient Sestri Levante make it a true treasure.
Rudi Cufficari owns a restaurant in Sestri Levante which is called "Polpo Mario" (Octopus Mario). The restaurant is well-known throughout the world as a temple of fine dining, hence, many famous people have visited it. Next time I am in Sestri I'll make sure not to miss it!
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| Rudy and one of his beauties... |
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| Octopus salad |
We have our own Rudy Cuffari here in Berne - in fact even better: His name is MÄTTU!
He is a gifted cook and last night we were invited to try the octopus! He prepared a marvelous, light and incredibly delicious salad (among other tasty goodies as the following pics prove):
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| Delicacy with sugar peas, lentils and red currants |
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| Chorizo |
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| Wraps with ricotta, garlic, herbs |
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| Smoked fish tartare: Awesomely tasteful! |
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| Chorizo and blue cheese from Spain and a Swiss cheese from the Alps - DELICIOUS! |
I felt blessed to sit and eat in their charming garden:
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| ♥ Thank you Maja and Mättu |
Life is so very good to me -
I am truly grateful!
♥ Emilie's daughter ♥
PS. Danke, liebi Sibu, dass du mine Blog immer bsuechsch!
Looks good bet you had a good time.
ReplyDeleteEverything looks charming and the food delicious.
ReplyDeleteWhat a feast and I love seafood of any kind.
ReplyDeleteHelen xxx
Carissima, what an honor! We appreciated it very much having you all around il polpo and its "escorts" :-) We love your talent to celebrate life … it's a precious gift and always brings joy and happiness to food-and-friends-gatherings like yesterday. Baci!!
ReplyDeleteMättu & Maja
The food looks absolutely wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI especialy like the smoked fish tartare and the cheeses.
Yum!
The table looked magnificent too.
So glad that you had such a lovely time with your friends.
Fiona x
ps I don't think I would ever eat octopus though, even the look of it makes me squirm
but it probably tastes delicious - does it???
I have never had octopus is it similar to squid? What a wonderful meal your friends gave you, I love their garden too.
ReplyDeleteSarah x
Wonderful meal at a wonderful table!
ReplyDelete♥ Franka
So much good food and a cozy place.
ReplyDeleteHugs
Elna
Dear Christa! That's my kind of food! The smoked fish tartare really, really appeals to me! And the octopus salad! Do I love octopus? Yes, I do! The one you ate was a female (can tell by its colour.) Female octopi are good for cooking, but really tough if eaten raw... because, where I come from we eat raw octopus. It's caught, brought ashore and tenderised, so it can be eaten. In Summer we like to dive and catch our own octopus, lobsters, crabs and fish. Female octopi are usually cooked as they are tough. We barbecue large octopi, then cut into 3cm pieces and place in a bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, some chopped garlic and fresh parsely. It's delicious. Very few ingredients, cleverly combined is the secret of good Italian food!
ReplyDeleteWell, Christa! You are very lucky to have friends who cook such delights for you! I can't wait to go to Italy and buy the freshest, most flavoursome ingredients nature provides. I'm so excited! You got me in the mood!
PS: Your friend's place looks beautiful, very cosy and inviting! How "bello e fantastico!"
Bacettini
ANNA
xxx
Lots of yummy food I must say :)
ReplyDeletexx Marie
Very nice, I can see some strong tastes there. Like it.
ReplyDeleteGreetings,
Filip