Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Cooking with Sugarcookie #9: A Simple and Light Dinner

Hi Everyone,

Here is an idea for a delicious simple and light dinner that will hopefully satisfy your hunger. Almost 3 years ago, I went backpacking in Europe and one of the countries that I went to is Spain. As most of you know, Spain is all 'Gaudi'ed-out' meaning almost everything there is made by Antoni Gaudi. If someone ask you "who design this building?" and you answered "Gaudi," 95% of the time you are going to be right.  Another thing that they are known for is their tapas. On the street of La Rambla in Barcelona, there is a great tapas restaurant that my friend and I have discovered. One of the tapas that we have ordered was sooooo delicious that we went back on our last day to order a second plate. I am trying to replicate that in this dish, however, I added my own little twist to it.

The dish that we went back for the second time is the cuttlefish. They had a nicely cooked cuttlefish on top of a sourdough bread. It looks so simple, but taste so good. They probably added something extra to it but the cuttlefish itself just have an amazing texture.

In my dish, I added steamed asparagus with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (Rachel Ray would say "EVOO") and some salt and pepper. I put it on a plate and placed it into the steamer for 10-15 minutes. This method is so much healthier than pan-frying and tastier than boiling. By steaming the vegetables it helps keep the flavors inside.




Now, the cuttlefish. I bought mines from Ranch 99 and they came frozen. I had to defrost them in the morning so it will be ready at night for me to cook. After they have defrosted.... the cuttlefish look so small..... I have been fooled.... anyways.... it's all good.

I took it out off the bag and washed each one individually. I also cut the heads off and just keep the body. 


Next, I boiled some water and added the cuttlefish in the pan for 5 min. You shouldn't leave them in the pan too long or they will shrink a lot like mine.... they became even smaller..... damn it! If they shrink anymore I won't have anything left to eat.

While they were cooking I cut up slices of sourdough bread that I bought from Safeway. I am going to butter them up in a hot pan on both sides.

I also chopped up some parsley to add a little bit of fresh flavor..... I just love the smell of parsley.

Let's plate this..... ignore my shrunken cuttlefish.... ahhhh... whatever..... it's hard to ignore it when it is right there staring at you in the face.


Despite the look of my cuttlefish, it taste soooo good. There is a little bit of soft, chewiness from the cuttlefish, a fresh flavor in between, with the crunchiness of the buttered sourdough bread all mixed together. The asparagus is not too soft.... and had just the right amount of flavor. 

Enjoy!
Bon appetit!

<3 <3 <3

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