It is hot. I think it is hot everywhere right now, record highs in Atlanta, sticky sweaty in Lavagna and like a dry oven here in Puglia. I have to say I kind of like it. Despite the fact that everyone here thinks it is humid, they have never visited the southeastern United States at this time of year and have no idea what they are talking about.

We did more entertaining this weekend than we have in a while, which was lovely. Friday we had a work colleague over, it was a lovely evening, so we could turn on the oven to cook the fish, and eat outside. A nice thing about dry heat is that it often cools off when the sun goes down (stop rolling your eyes, these things are all new to this Southern girl). The problem we ran into was lunch on Saturday with old friends, the kitchen has a western exposure and the sun hits hard from about 2pm until 7 pm, making any cooking during those hours impossible. We ate at around 1:30 and just cooking the pasta the kitchen, where we have our table, became a steam bath. This is getting boring, so to make a long story short, I made this delicious cuttlefish salad as a secondo. I’ve always loved an insalata di mare, but was always afraid of the cooking time for the fish, but 15 minutes of steaming and the cuttlefish was cooked to perfection. I will be experimenting a lot more with these seafood salads this summer.

Insalata Fredda di Seppioline

• 1 kilo (around 2 lb) of cuttlefish
• 300 grams (10 oz) tomatoes
• 150 grams (5 oz) arugula
• 1/4 of an onion
• 100 grams (3.5 oz) day old artisanal bread
• 1 lemon
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Place cleaned cuttlefish in a steaming basket and steam for 15 minutes once the water starts to boil at the bottom of the pan. When they have finished cooking, rinse with cold water and thinly slice, set aside to cool off completely.

In the meantime chop the tomatoes into 1/2-inch pieces and slice the onion into thin rings. Wash and dry the arugula and cut into small pieces. Tear the bread into small pieces and toast.

Place the cuttlefish in a salad bowl with the other vegetables and dress it with an emulsion of olive oil, salt, pepper and the juice of half a lemon. Add the toasted bread, toss and serve.

Three Years Ago: Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas

~ by italicious on July 2, 2012.

Posted in antipasti, arugula, basil, Basilicata, bread, cuttlefish, onions, Puglia, secondi, tomatoes
Tags: cuttlefish, salad, seafood