scallop and octopus salad in seafood sauce

well, sort of. this is a cupboard kind of dish and would make a good starter if you haven't got time to cook. the tins themselves are not cheap, admittedly, but it's good stuff.

rich said you'd have to be pretty brave to serve this to guests and i can see his point - it's a fishy affair and some people won't like the seafood sauce the octopus was tinned in. me, i really like that stuff. no idea what it's made of but it reminds me of tinned sardines we used to eat when we were little. they came in a box with a picture of a walrus sailor on the front, in a stripy wife beater vest and a pipe. or maybe i imagined that. the bit i liked best was finding bits of crunchy veg in the sauce but no one seem to do that any more.

i jazzed the sauce up a bit by adding chopped chilli and parsley, and a squeeze of lemon juice. i also put in some halved cherry tomatoes but you could use any veg you like really.

obviously, this would work if the seafood was just tinned in olive oil, in which case be more generous with the chilli and parsley and season with some chilli oil and a generous squeeze of lemon juice.

SCALLOP AND OCTOPUS SALAD IN SEAFOOD SAUCE
for two

1 tin squid in olive oil
1 tin octopus in seafood sauce
5 cherry tomatoes
1 tbs finely chopped parsley
1/2 chilli, finely chopped
a squeeze or two of lemon juice
salad leaves

put all the ingredients together in a bowl and mix. taste and season. just call me heston.