Fisherman's menu

Here's a rather special fisherman's menu for tonight, built almost entirely around seafood: a fresh, summery meal, a bit pricier than usual — but every now and then, it's worth treating yourself.

What's in the fisherman's menu

• Chinese-style shrimp soup
• Octopus and pepper salad
• Oven-marinated swordfish

Hot starter: Chinese-style shrimp soup

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 300 g rice noodles
• 50 g fresh ginger
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 30 shrimp
• 1 fresh chili pepper
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 liter water
• Black pepper

Preparation (20 min, cooking 10 min)

1. Peel the shrimp.
2. Wash the cilantro and pick off the leaves.
3. Split the chili pepper in two, remove the seeds, then chop it very finely.
4. Peel the ginger and grate it finely.
5. Dissolve the stock cube in a liter of water and pour into a saucepan.
6. Add the grated ginger and bring to a boil.
7. Add the noodles, shrimp, and chili, mix well, and cook for 5 minutes.
8. Add the soy sauce, remove from heat, and season with pepper.
9. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Cold starter: octopus and pepper salad

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 500 g octopus
• 1 tomato
• 1 bell pepper
• 2 onions
• 1/2 bunch parsley
• 1 lemon

Preparation (15 min, cooking 1 hour)

1. Cook the octopus in a pot of boiling water.
2. Once tender, remove from heat, let cool, drain, and cut into pieces.
3. Peel, seed, and dice the tomato.
4. Finely chop the onions, bell pepper, and parsley.
5. Add it all to the octopus.
6. Season with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Main course: oven-marinated swordfish

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1 kg swordfish fillet
• 500 g peeled, crushed tomato
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves
• 3 onions
• Parsley
• 1 lemon
• 500 g rice

Preparation (15 min, resting 1 hour, cooking 15 min)

1. Prepare the marinade in an oven dish: combine the peeled tomatoes, olive oil, chopped onions, and crushed garlic cloves.
2. Remove the skin from the swordfish fillets and cut into 6 pieces.
3. Coat the fillets in the marinade, season with salt and pepper, and let rest for an hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
5. Bake for 15 minutes before serving.
6. Serve with rice or pumpkin fries.

Take care not to overcook it, so the fish doesn't dry out: a drizzle of oil before baking, along with very little fat overall, is enough to keep the flesh tender.

Dessert: a seasonal fruit

To close out this fisherman's menu, a simple seasonal fruit is all it takes to refresh the palate after this meal of briny flavors.

Shrimp, octopus, and swordfish brought together in one menu: a fresh, sea-scented meal, best saved for a somewhat special occasion.