Back in Berkeley Feast

It's been a very, very long time, but I have so many delicious things for you ahead that you might actually forgive the hideous post I left you with for the past year. Today we have a feast, made with my lovely cooking buddy Katie - you can see previous feasts we've done here, here, here, and here (these are worth clicking on, I promise). I'm back from a year (plus a few weeks more recently) in Paris, and Katie's back (unfortunately temporarily) from the UK. We put this whole thing together in 2 1/2 hours, which I still can't believe. But each dish is extremely easy - even the homemade gnocchi - and can even be done on a weeknight.

Quick-pickled carrots, radishes, radish sprouts, sunflower seeds, 

baby gem lettuce, oven-dried beet chips, chevre, anchovy

Corn soup, bacon, chives

Braised squid in Piperade

Ricotta gnocchi, lamb meatballs, fresh peas, mint

Katie's Back! Feast

Katie, my partner in complicated cooking crime (see our past feasts: sushi, offal, around-the-world, & summer), is visiting from Scotland, where she's been living for the past year and a half. We designed a meal that highlighted seasonal ingredients, since she's been missing California produce. Unfortunately we were a bit too ambitious; we prepared 8 courses but our guests could only stomach 6. Nixed courses were a salad with arugula, heirloom tomato, avocado, and black radish, and a cheese course pairing Iberico with Bosc & Comice pear and Fuyu persimmon. We did manage to eat the following:

Spanish White Gazpacho with Grapes

Seared Duck Liver with Fig and Rosemary

Bay Scallop Ceviche with Avocado and Smoked Turkish Pepper

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Crispy Calamari, Baby Artichokes, Eggplant

Wild Mushroom & Goat Cheese Puff Pastry

Skirt Steak with Spicy Roasted Pepper Sauce and Savory Chimmichuri

Morcilla-Stuffed Squid

Morcilla is Spanish-style blood sausage. It's meatier than boudin and has a coarser grind. The one we got (at The Spanish Table) was combined with rice, which makes a really nice, substantial stuffing mix. If this kind of thing scares you, you can easily make this recipe with normal bulk sausage.

You'll need (serves 2-3):

6 squid bodies, cleaned (remove inner cartiledge)

4 links morcilla or other sausage

1 onion, chopped

1/2T cumin

1t cayenne

1T paprika

1c red wine

for the sauce:

7 cloves garlic, crushed and sliced

1/2 onion, chopped

4 shallots, sliced

1T tomato paste

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1T paprika

In a large heavy skillet, heat some olive oil and saute the chopped onion until brown, about 8 minutes. Remove the sausage from its casing and add it to the skillet, crumbling it up with your fingers as you add it. Stir to combine; add spices to taste. Deglaze with red wine and let simmer until almost dry. Taste and adjust spices. Remove from pan and let cool.

When the stuffing is cool enough to handle, stuff squid bodies (but don't stuff them too much-- they'll shrink quite a bit when they cook). Secure opening with toothpicks.

Add oil to skillet (same skillet-- don't clean it out) and brown stuffed squid lightly, about 5 min/side. Remove. Add sauce ingredients: onion, shallot, garlic. Let cook slowly over low heat until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring so garlic doesn't brown. Add tomato paste; let caramelize, then stir to combine. Add tomato sauce and paprika; return squid to pan. Add some chicken broth or water so that liquid comes halfway up squid. Let simmer about 45 minutes, until squid is tender (can be easily pierced with a fork).

leftovers, in the pan

cross-section of stuffed squid

Braised Calamari in Spicy Tomato Sauce

This is shockingly easy and cheap-- for some reason (probably because people don't know what to do with it), squid is pretty inexpensive, and most markets sell it pre-cleaned. You can play with the ingredients to create different flavor combinations-- this would be great with olives and red wine, for example.

You'll need (per person for a main course):

1 lb squid (calamari)
1c cherry tomatoes (or any other tomato. canned is fine too)
2T olive oil
5 cloves garlic, smashed
1 serrano chili, chopped (or red pepper flakes)
chopped fresh herbs (I used thyme and sage)
1T tomato paste
1-2T paprika (I used sweet; I'll probably try smoked next time, for more oomph)
1 1/2c white wine

Heat oil in skillet. Add tomatoes, garlic, chili, tomato paste and herbs. Saute, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes collapse and garlic turns golden. Add squid, salt and pepper, and paprika. Add wine and cook, uncovered, at a simmer for about 45 minutes, until sauce is thick and squid is tender. Serve with baguette.

Spicy Grilled Squid

Squid, or calamari, is the perfect summer food: it's light and tasty, cooks in minutes, and tastes faintly of the sea, which is probably where you wish you could be in the kind of weather we've been enjoying this week. It's also the perfect winter food: stuffed and braised, it makes a warm, hearty dish. Look for winter squid if the weather changes; for now, enjoy this recipe, which can be made with any marinade (olive oil, garlic, and salt would be delicious), and can be cooked on an outdoor barbecue (like we did) or in your griddle pan or cast-iron skillet. It can even be broiled. And the best part is that squid is incredibly cheap.

You'll need:

1/2 lb cleaned squid bodies per person*

4T honey
2T sambal (chili-garlic paste)-- or less if you can't handle the heat
1.5T rice vinegar
1T low-sodium soy sauce
juice of 1/2 lime + more limes for serving
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 inch piece ginger, minced-- or, better yet, press in a garlic press!

*You can buy pre-cleaned squid; if it's not, squeeze out the guts and remove the cartilage.

Mix all sauce ingredients. Set aside.

Slice squid bodies open lengthwise into two pieces (they'll look vaguely triangular). Wash and dry well. Using a sharp knife, score the squid on what used to be the inside (softer) side on the diagonal, both ways, so you have diamond-shaped cross-hatching.

Toss the squid with half the sauce. Save the rest of the sauce for dipping. Marinate 20 minutes.


Light the barbecue. While it's heating up, skewer each piece of calamari lengthwise so it lies flat. Place it on the hot grill and cook 2 minutes/side, until light char marks show.

Serve with sauce and more lime.

And as long as you're barbecuing, throw some corn on too...


...and drink some beer...

Sierra Nevada's Southern Hemisphere Harvest
has a nice balance of fresh hops & malt

Lagunitas Maximus is a true IPA lover's dream

... and cheese (Basque Ixtara and the Cheeseboard's own Hot Cheddar Spread) and baguette are a must...

...enjoy the view!

La Loma Park, Berkeley, CA