Ahinosalata Sea Urchin Roe Meze Recipes

AHINOSALATA (SEA URCHIN ROE MEZE)

Steps:

• In a little bowl, empty the sea urchin roe and juices and 'dress' with the evoo and lemon juice. (how you go about cracking the sea urchin is your own darned problem! ;-)).
• Enjoy with little husks of the best bread you can find.
• I like to dip the bread into the roe and juices to sop up some liquid, then top off with a little of the roe. Enjoy with sips of a very dry, cold white wine.
• Ideally, this should be accompanied by a Greek sunset and music by Nikos Xylouris. Oh, and sand between your toes is a MUST!

OCTOPUS MEZE

Steps:

• Rinse the octopus under cold, running water and place in pot dripping wet (you don't want to dry it off- this is the moisture it will cook in).
• Add the vinegar and garlic and cover the pot.
• Bring to the boil over low heat.
• It is tender when pierced easily with a fork (this can vary from octopus to octopus, so time is not a good indicator of doneness in this case).
• When cool enough to handle, strip off suckers and reddish-purple membrane on flesh (these are delicious, but the octopus is more presentable without them- enjoy them by yourself!).
• Cut the octopus into small tidbits.
• And arrange on a platter, drizzled with olive oil and vinegar and sprinkled with oregano.
• If you are going to serve the octopus another day, pack it in a jar or small tupperware bowl, cover with olive oil, top with 3-4 tblsps of vinegar and 1 tblsp oregano.
• Give a stir.
• Cover and refrigerate.

SEA URCHIN WITH JALAPENO AND YUZU

Steps:

• Lightly toast bread pieces until crispy on the outside but still chewy inside; butter one side of each piece of toast and set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water. Place 1/2 cup yuzu juice in a small saucepan and whisk in cornstarch mixture. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and whisk in remaining 1/2 cup yuzu juice. Pour yuzu mixture immediately into a bowl set in an ice water-bath. Let cool completely.
• Top each piece of buttered toast with 1 or 2 pieces of sea urchin and a piece of jalapeno. Spoon over cooled yuzu mixture; serve immediately.

SEA URCHIN MOUSSE WITH GINGER VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Make mousse:
• Sprinkle gelatin over broth in a small saucepan and let stand 1 minute to soften, then cook over moderate heat, stirring, until dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Force uni through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, scraping bottom of sieve occasionally.
• Whisk in yolk, salt, lemon juice, and cayenne, then add broth mixture, whisking. Return to saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until it registers 170°F on thermometer, 2 to 3 minutes. (Do not let simmer or egg will curdle.) Transfer mixture to a bowl set in a larger bowl of ice and cold water. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until mixture is cold and the consistency of raw egg whites, about 10 minutes.
• Beat cream with an electric mixer until it just holds soft peaks, then fold cream into uni mixture gently but thoroughly. Chill, covered, until set, about 1 hour.
• Make vinaigrette while mousse chills:
• Press hard on ginger in a small fine-mesh sieve set over a small bowl to extract 1 teaspoon juice (discard solids), then whisk in lemon juice and salt. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified.
• To serve:
• Spoon 1/4 cup mousse onto each of 6 plates, then drizzle with some vinaigrette.