Sauce Minute

Back to those peas...I love them for many reasons, but mostly because they inspire quick cooking, or dishes that require no cooking at all. On Sunday I made an octopus salad for lunch. (If octopus is not your cup of tea, I'm sure it would work beautifully with cooked shrimp as well.) Just a mince of shallot, a dice of red pepper, a handful of chevril, and a cup full of the raw peas for color and crunch. A drizzle of olive oil and a splash of sherry vinegar on top. The sliced avocado was the perfect compliment, creamy and rich.
My dorade dinner was a flash in the pan. I know whole fish seems so complicated and luxurious, but it really is one of my ten minute meals. Ok, 12 minutes. The fish needs 6 minutes on each side under the broiler, and the sauce minute (that's French for instant sauce) of shallot, lardons (bacon), cherry tomatoes and white wine, takes 7 minutes. Add the peas at the very end, just to heat through. Et voila!

Octopus Salad with Fresh Peas

8 oz. octopus, cut into bite-sized pieces (I buy my octopus cooked, packed in oil, from a Greek store) - cooked shrimp would also work nicely, I think.

1 medium shallot, minced

1/2 red pepper, diced

1 small handful of chevril, chopped

1 cup fresh peas

Sea salt, black pepper - to taste

Olive oil

Sherry vinegar (red wine vinegar in a pinch)

1 small avocado, halved and sliced

Combine all the ingredients except the avocado in a large salad bowl. Add salt, pepper, oil and vinegar to taste. Top with the sliced avocado.

Serves 2

Dorade with Sauce Minute of Lardon, Tomatos and Peas

2 whole Dorade, 12 oz each, gutted

Olive oil

Sea Salt

4 oz. lardons (slab bacon, chopped)

1 medium shallot minced

1 pound of cherry tomatoes, halved

1/3 cup of white wine

1 cup fresh peas

Preheat the oven to broil. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Rinse the fish and lay them out with a drizzle of olive oil and some salt. Cook the fish for 6 minutes, flip to the other side, and cook for an additional 6 minutes. Fish is done when the flesh is opaque down to the bone.

Meanwhile, in a medium frying pan, heat lardons (chopped bacon), for a minute until it renders a bit of fat. Add the minced shallot and saute for 2-3 minutes until bacon is beginning to brown and shallot is translucent. Add the tomatoes, cook for a minute, then add the white wine. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until the tomatos give a bit of juice but still hold their shape. Turn off the heat.

After you have taken the fish out of the oven, add the fresh peas to the sauce and heat through. Serve immediately with lemon and wild rice or quinoa.

Serves 2