Baby octopus salad

I've had octopus on the mind lately, so when Broad Branch for the first time I've ever seen had a little pile of baby octopuses in their fish counter, I bought one to try it.

The first task was to figure out what I had, since the recipes I looked at were talking about an octopus weighing 2 to 3 pounds, and mine was only 5 ounces. But it definitely wasn't a squid, and Google Images helped me determine it's what is called a baby octopus.

Mark Bittman has octopus recipes in his Fish, but these are the big daddies. He does say that octopus is underappreciated in this country and he knows people who swear it's better than lobster. Epicurious came up with a nice and easy recipe for baby octopus salad.

Let me say right away that the result was a revelation. I've had and enjoyed both octopus salad and grilled octopus, but cooking it fresh at home introduced me to a new and better version. This octopus came out tender, not chewy, with a delicate flavor that hinted of fish but had that creamy sweetness you associate with lobster or crab, only with a firmer texture.

You just simmer the octopus in water with a bay leaf for 45 minutes, drain and, when cooled, toss in a vinaigrette of oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and oregano and leave it sit for 20 minutes. Squeamish alert. These little guys have tentacles with little sucking pads on them and they start moving in the water as cooking tightens and curls the flesh. The water turns purple and the boiled octopus comes out purple. The recipe says to cut off the head and then cut it in half lengthwise. I chopped the tentacles into smaller pieces, the way I've seen in salads that I've had. I for once was out of lemons so substituted a dash of white wine vinegar.

The result was a new treat that I can't wait to repeat. Hopefully, this was not a one-off appearance at Broad Branch. The octopuses seemed fresh but may have been thawed out. Bittman says that most octopuses are caught offshore in this country and then shipped to Europe. The frozen octopus available here goes that route. The only other time I shopped for octopus was at the Fishery and they brought out a kilo-size block of frozen fish that was way too much for just me, since Andrea practically turned ill at the sight of even a baby octopus.

Pork/Leeks; Salmon/Lime; Chicken/Fennel

Weekday meals can be surprisingly fresh with a little extra effort to flavor standard meat and fish dishes by cooking them with vegetables and fruit.

Marcella Hazan came through with another winning pork recipe. Her pan-roasted pork loin with leeks calls for a bone-in pork loin roast. The key is the leeks. Take 4 or 5 slim leeks, trim, cut in half lengthwise and then cross-wise in 1/2-inch slices. Wilt these with butter and oil in a Dutch oven for a few minutes until soft but not brown. Salt and remove 2/3 of the leeks. Add more butter and oil, flour the pork roast (detach the rib bone and tie it back on with string), brown it on all sides, salt, pepper, then add some wine, boil briefly, cover and reduce the heat to low. Let the meat cook for about 2 hours. Remove, puree the leeks in the pan and add back to pan with reserved leeks and meat. Cook on high for 10 minutes, turning roast. The result is a tender pot roast with a deep, gentle onion-y flavor from the leeks.

When Broad Branch had some good-looking Skuna Bay salmon fillets, I brought home one to grill. Skuna Bay, it turns out, is a "craft" farmed salmon from British Columbia and did have a good flavor. A quick check on Epicurious produced a very popular lime butter -- just garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper emulsified in butter -- to put on grilled salmon. Sprinkle some lime zest on the grilled salmon and serve with the butter. Adds a whole new dimension to the salmon. We had steamed quinoa with it.

After reading the New Yorker profile on Yotam Ottolenghi, we of course immediately bought Jerusalem and started off with his roasted chicken with clementines and arak. It turned us into believers. Just whip up the marinade of arak, oil, orange juice, lemon juice, grain mustard, salt, pepper and light brown sugar. Add the chicken -- either a cut-up whole chicken or 3 pounds of thighs (our choice) -- two fennel bulbs trimmed, cut in half and then into wedges, and 4 sliced clementines. Marinade a few hours or overnight then spread on a baking sheet (chicken skin-side up) and pop into a 475-degree oven for 35 to 45 minutes. Exquisite. The arak enhances the anise-fennel flavor and the citrus adds complexity and freshness.

Pizzeria Orso

You'd think you were in Italy on a glorious summer day, except that you're looking right at the Fairfax Auto Parts garage, thankfully closed on a Sunday, across the street.

No matter, dining on the terrace in 80-degree humidity-free weather is something to be enjoyed regardless of the view, and the great food at this suburban restaurant -- it is far more than a pizzeria -- made it truly enjoyable.

Marvelous pizza crust (photo from restaurant website)

The menu had so many appetizing starters, pastas and small plates, it was hard to choose. However, and although Orso, like 2Amys, is a real restaurant with a real kitchen, I felt obliged to try the pizza on this first trip. So I passed on the grilled octopus (figuring it had had a long trip in a freezer to get to Falls Church) and opted for the grilled heart of Romaine with chopped Romaine, fresh anchovies and Caesar dressing. The grilled lettuce is a great addition to the classic Caesar and I became a magnet for all the anchovies that others in our party didn't want. They don't know what they're missing. Andrea's sauteed cauliflower was also very tasty.

I settled for the Tommy Boy, an ambitious white pizza with ham, sausage, mozzarella, pecorino, basil, fresno peppers, garlic, grana, ricotta, and a cream sauce to bind the cheeses -- all of which came out tasting much more harmonious than it sounds. The thin crust, billowing around the edges, had that wonderful yeasty taste you crave in pizza crusts, with charred bits adding just the right wood-fired accent. Andrea ordered an Orso Bianco, another white pizza with no meat and more cheese that tasted, in fact, really cheesy.

I had an excellent American IPA, Face Plant from the Lost Rhino Brewery in Ashburn, to go with the pizza, after enjoying a Negroni in the breezy weather while we waited. In a restaurant that produces such high-quality food, it was bit bizarre that the waiter said he would have to check if they had Campari on hand for my drink. It was even more bizarre when he returned with the Negroni and the "good news" that they not only had Campari but had just enough sweet vermouth as well to make the drink (oh, and our dinner partners' martinis got the last of the Grey Goose). The service, too, was more friendly than professional, and sometimes you yearn for those snooty Continental waiters (though I may change my tune after 10 days in Italy).

The trek to Virginia was prompted by a friend's reaction to my paean of praise for 2Amys and his distaste for the thin and bland DOC Neapolitan pizzas. The irony was that Orso had much more in common with 2Amys than it had different -- which is anything but a criticism in my book. The pleasant terrace (we just breezed through the restaurant, though it left a welcoming if somewhat suburban impression) and the marvelous crust actually give Orso a slight edge.

Wild Honey

Cross-posted from my culinary travel blog Road Gourmet

During my recent trip to London, I wanted to find a Zagat-rated restaurant in Mayfair after cocktails at Claridge's that offered British cuisine. Patterson's (26 rating on food) seemed to fill the bill but when I got there it had turned into a Japanese restaurant. But they kindly sent me around the corner to Wild Honey, a "New Brit" with seasonal dishes that earned a respectable 23 for food.

My view at the bar (from restaurant website)

The reddish wood paneling and red leather banquettes with bright modern paintings made a warm and welcoming impression. A bar seat was available and a personable Lithuanian waiter provided flawless service. Dinner guests were lively but the noise level was comfortable and a contrast to the American obsession with making places noisy to create buzz.

I opted for a la carte because the prix fixe menu seemed a bit boring. The smoked Lincolnshire eel for a starter was tender and delicate in flavor, different from smokier, eelier versions I knew from the Baltic beaches, but more appropriate for a swanky Mayfair restaurant. The rack of lamb main course was also tender and served with a spring roll with lamb shoulder as a complement that wasn't even mentioned in the description. A carafe of red wine was just the right amount to accompany. The English custard tart for dessert was so light it did not so much melt in your mouth as evaporate, leaving behind a creamy, sugary aftertaste. The grated nutmeg topping was just the right accent.

I only found out afterwards staying the weekend with some friends in London that it was one of their favorite restaurants, too.