Polpo!

It isn't every day that a man jumps out of bed and decides that today is the day he finally cooks himself an octopus.

Recently I had such a day.

On the night table: "A16 Food + Wine" by Nate Appelman and Shelley Lindgren, open to page 135, "Octopus and ceci bean zuppa with escarole, garlic, and chiles."

Nuff said.

Everything needed was in house (our cupboard is nothing if not exceedingly well stocked; there were three, count 'em, three types of chickpeas from which to choose) except for the escarole and of course the polpo. Hannaford and Harbor Fish, here I come.

A quick stop for a bagel at 158 (poppy, extra butter; no, not toasted, Josh gets the crust right most times, so why mess with it?) and I'm in and out of the produce aisle in a flash. Over the bridge and onto Harbor, where it is as expected: no fresh pulpo, just frozen. But they're whole and so I grab one and make for the exit.

It's already midday and so I decide to let the octopus thaw slowly, which means overnight, thereby pushing things back a day. (With age, apparently, comes patience. Sucks.)

Anyways, if you like octopus (and ain't too skeeved out by handling the suckers), Epicurious actually has the recipe on its website, and so I'll just show a few pics along the way: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Octopus-and-Ceci-Bean-Zuppa-with-Escarole-Garlic-and-Chiles-351349

Definitely a tasty dish. And not difficult to make. I would up the garlic, though. But that's just me.


The lemon rind's a nice touch


Whaddayagonnado?


Serious shrinkage


And there you go.

I'd suggest some freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on top. And, of course, a crusty bread (from Scratch, or the oddly still not fully appreciated, methinks, Black Crow), a bottle of Nero d'Avola, and call me in the morning (but not before 7).