It was a close friend’s birthday last week and, in addition, it was well overdue for a girls night. So I planned this dinner party for four of my girlfriends. It was a perfect excuse to recreate some of my favorite Greek recipes I had during my recent trip. We had excellent fish almost everyday in Greece and I knew that my health conscience friends would love a nice grilled piece of fish. So I decided on making branzino; a firm, white, delicate-flavored fish and considered the Mediterranean sea bass. I also had to have grilled octopus. My boyfriend was nice enough to buy both the fish and an entire octopus (head and all) from the fish market. Below you find some pictures of the octopus-cutting process. Fun!
The dinner party was on a Wednesday. So I set my menu and planned for the following few days on Monday night. Tuesday: I prepped the vegetables, boiled the octopus and let is sit in the marinate, seasoned and marinated the branzino, made the bean puree and roasted the eggplant. On Wednesday: I made the saffron yogurt, finished the salads, heated the bean puree, grilled the fish and the octopus and set the table. I was ready 30 minutes before everyone arrived so I had a glass of wine and listened to my new playlist from Greece.
Menu
Bean Puree
Watermelon, Tomato Feta Salad
Grilled Octopus
Grilled Branzino
Roasted Eggplant with Saffron Yogurt, Pine Nut, Pomegranate Seeds and Basil
Bean Puree
Ingredients
- 2 cans of Garbanzo Beans, rinsed and dried
- Olive Oil
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
- Flat Leaf Parsley
- Kalamata Olives
Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, heat garbanzo beans. Drizzle with olive oil and a few splashes of red wine vinegar.
2. Smash beans with back of spoon or with potato masher. Add more olive oil and vinegar as needed. (Make sure to taste along the way). Season with salt and pepper.
3. Garnish with olive oil, parsley and olives. Serve Warm.
Tomato Watermelon Feta & Mint Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound watermelon pieces
- 2 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 4 ounces feta, cut into cubes
- 1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted
- 8 mint leaves, torn
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of balsamic glaze
- Sea Salt & Pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Cut the watermelon into bite-size pieces. Cut the tomatoes into wedges. Combine in a bowl or arrange on a platter.
2. Place feta over the watermelon and tomato mixture, add the mint and drizzle with the olive oil and balsamic glaze.
3. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper
Grilled Octopus
Ingredients
- 16 ounces cleaned octopus with heads removed (about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds uncleaned)
- 1 onion, halved
- 1 carrot, halved
- 1 celery, halved
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaves
- 4 cloves unpeeled garlic, crushed
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 lime, juiced
Directions:
1. Put the octopus in a pot with water enough to cover. Add the onions, carrots, celery, thyme, and bay leaf; bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat and cook until opaque, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the octopus with a slotted spoon and cool. (This may be done a day ahead and refrigerated in a covered bowl.)
2. Transfer the octopus to a resealable plastic bag and add the garlic, olive oil, and lime juice; seal and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove the octopus from the marinade and set aside.
3. Grill the octopus for 4 to 5 minutes, turning once after 2 to 3 minutes, until it is browned in spots and nicely caramelized but not burned. Remove and cut into bite-size pieces.
Branzino
Ingredients
- Two 2 1/2 to 3 1/2-pound Branzino, gutted and scaled by fish monger
- 2 garlic cloves crushed, rough chopped
- 4-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon rough chopped fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon rough chopped fresh rosemary
- Salt and cracked pepper to season
Directions
1. Marinate Branzino by brushing marinade all over fish inside and out. This can be done the day before or at least 2-3 hours before grilling.
2. If you’re using a gas or electric grill, preheat the grill, set on high, for about 10-15 minutes before cooking.
3. If you’re using wood or charcoal, start fire 45 minutes to 1 hour ahead of time. Leave cover off grill the whole time.
4. Grill the fish for about 10 minutes per inch of thickness. Turn the fish carefully. Once the first side has nice dark grill marks, turn the fish all at once to see if the fish is done.
5. Insert a paring knife carefully into the back and gently pull the flesh away from the backbone. The flesh should pull away and appear moist. Transfer fish to oval platter.
Roasted Eggplant with Saffron Yogurt
Ingredients
- 3 medium eggplants, cut into slices 2cm thick, or into wedges
- 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil for brushing
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
- Handful of pomegranate seeds
- 10-15 basil leaves
- sea salt and black pepper
Saffron Yoghurt
Ingredients
- a small pinch of saffron strands
- 3 tablespoons hot water
- 180g Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
1. Begin with saffron yogurt sauce by infusing saffrons strands in hot water. Let it sit for 5-6 minutes. Pour the mixture into a bowl and add yogurt. For the sauce, infuse the saffron in the hot water in a small bowl for 5 minutes. Pour the saffron mixture into a bowl containing the yogurt and olive oil. Whisk well to get a nice yellow sauce. Add salt to taste and chill.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place eggplant on sheet pan and toss in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and roast for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool.
3. Arrange serving platter by layering eggplant slices. Add yogurt sauce over eggplant. Then sprinkle pine nuts and pomegranate seeds. Finally lay basil leaves on top.
