A fresh, fast, one dish dinner that captivates palates and imaginations young and old…
In a much beloved game in our home my three year old daughter, and most favorite sous chef, is allowed to pick raw ingredients all by herself and challenge me to create a dish to her specifications. It’s fun for both of us and I am consistently amazed by the variety and wholesomeness of the food she chooses (she’s yet to pick mac and cheese for example even though it’s a favorite food).
In this case she wowed my by selecting baby octopus (which she had never seen before, let alone tried) and soba noodles (which she had). Next she challenged me to make a dish wherein the octopi "looked like they were swimming,” and, because they were babies, she reminded me that they needed a nest (naturally); and, because I am someone who feels compelled to add a ‘green thing’ to nearly every dish… I added sugar snap peas. I also wanted to see if my daughter would eat them.
Frankly, the hardest part about this recipe is sourcing the baby octopus - other than that it’s dead easy, not to mention lightning fast. Before you buy your octopus, however, be sure to check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Guide for their best baby octopus buying practices.
As we’re prone to do, my tiny sous chef and I captured the maiden voyage of this recipe in a step by step video self shot and edited entirely on the iPhone 4 which can be viewed on:
www.vimeo.com/channels/hannahbtv
The Seafood Watch Guide can be found here
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx
Hungry for more? @hannahbtv
—Hannahbtv
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