Une table avec vue – Salade de seiches grillées avec pommes de terres à la tapenade et vinaigrette à l’ail

This one will be among my favorite seafood salads…When you are in love with so many dishes, it’s hard to just pick one, so I have a list of dishes, and this one is a part of the “killer list” or “la liste qui tue“.

Saturday after a delicious dinner at a famous San Francisco seafood restaurant, located at the Embarcadero facing the Bay Bridge called the Waterbar, I met again with octopus. If you ever end up in San Francisco and want to stay away from the touristy seafood restaurants on the Pier 39, try the Waterbar. I think it’s a little pricey but if you want to spend a nice romantic evening “déguster” (savor) amazing fish and seafood, the Waterbar is a great choice. Nothing is fried like in many restaurants, every dish has been carefully prepared and cooked with refinement to enhance its natural texture and flavor. You get the most amazing seafood dishes staring at the gorgeous Bay, so nothing to complain about.

This salad has been inspired by the octopus dish I ordered. The octopus was sliced and topped with an abundant and garlic chutney, arugola, and some potatoes topped with tapenade. I fell in love all of the sudden. I saw it, my heart melted. You must think that I do fall in love quite easily, if you give me grilled seafood (looks like I am back eating fish and seafood) with fresh herbs, garlic , I just cannot help myself.

I found this cute cuttlefish at the store that reminded me of Italy, cuttlefish is very popular in Southern France and Italy where they use its ink to make risotto al nero di seppia (squid ink risotto), seppia means cuttlefish, but squid and octopus ink is also used in gastronomy. So cuttlefish has replaced octopus here and I felt a little closer to home. Cuttlefish is thicker than squid, so it require a little more cooking time.

I made extra tapenade which is a traditional spread from Provence (Tapena means capers in Provencal language) made out of olives crushed into a purée. It can be stored for days in the refrigerator and be used in so many other ways.

Ingredients for 2

  • 8-10 baby cuttlefish
  • cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
  • some arugula or other greens leaves

For the potatoes

  • 6 medium yukon potatoes
  • 1 tbs tarragon, chopped
  • 1 tbs parsley chopped
  • 2 tbs extra fruity cold pressed olive oil
  • salt and fresh cracked pepper

For the tapenade

  • 1/2 lb (or 250 g) kalamata olives
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2.11 oz (or 60 g) capers
  • 1.41 oz (or 40 g) anchovies
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 3.38 fl oz (or 100 ml) olive oil
  • pepper

For the garlic vinaigrette

  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 tbs walnut oil
  • 1 garlic clove crushed
  • 1.5 tsp orange champagne vinegar
  • 1.5 tsp pomegranate glaze
  • 1 tsp chives, chopped
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

Cook potatoes in water until cooked. Peel and let them lukewarm. Crush roughly with a fork leaving some big chunks and incoporate herbs, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix carefully.

Grill cuttlefish on a grill pan, turning them around until cooked, about 7-8 minutes or less, depending on the size of the cuttlefish.

For the tapenade, place ingredients in a mortar, and crush all ingredients into a paste, except for olive oil, lemon juice and pepper. Add olive oil gradually at the end like you would proceed for a mayonnaise while stirring. Add lemon juice and pepper when tapenade is ready.

For the vinaigrette, mix all ingredients together, mix well.

Place a small amount of potatoes in a plate, top it with a tsp or more of tapenade. Place cuttlefish and cherry tomato halves around the potatoes and drizzle with vinaigrette.