Seafood salad

Seafood salpicón is a really successful recipe: it is both a delicious starter and a light first course that will make you look great. Virginia, author of Sweet&Sour , brings us her tips for preparing it. You will love it!

The dish I bring you today, the seafood salpicón recipe , is a staple on my table for New Year's Eve dinner, because at this point in the film, we are a little saturated with big dishes and sweets and we need, especially that night, something light and fresh, that allows us to continue the party beyond the grapes.

The seafood salpicón has the advantage that we can prepare it in advance and it opens the dinner in an elegant and light way. My trick is to use quality seafood, in this case I have opted for crabs, prawns, and octopus legs, along with a fish with flavor like monkfish, which enhances the taste of the sea. And of course, you should not forget quality oil and vinegar, which will round out the dish, because we must not forget that they are eaten raw.

Le Creuset mini-cocotte and Green Cosmos bowls and plates from Tokyo Design

When I prepare salpicón for summer meals, I like to add boiled egg, and sometimes I even replace the classic vinaigrette with a light mayonnaise-type sauce. This is not the case for New Year's Eve dinner, where seafood should shine in all its splendor.

Ingredients (for 4-6 people)

• 1 small fresh monkfish tail or frog (approx. 500g)*
• 16 fresh prawns
• 4 fresh crabs
• 2 octopus legs
• 2 spring onions
• ½ green pepper
• ½ red pepper
• Fresh parsley
• 175ml Triolliva gourmet extra virgin olive oil
• Edmon Fallot sherry vinegar (or any other mild vinegar)
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Lime zest

*You can replace the fresh monkfish with frozen monkfish if it is too expensive at this time of year, or with fresh scorpionfish or hake, which is quite affordable these days.

Le Creuset Damascus Steel Kitchen Knife , Master Class Round Board and Le Creuset Mini-Cocottes

Preparation

1. Remove the skin from the monkfish, if your fishmonger has not done so. Cut the tail of the monkfish into thick slices about 3 cm thick and cook it in boiling salted water for 4 to 5 minutes after it starts to boil. Set aside while it cools down.
2. We cook the crabs. To cook them and prevent them from bursting during cooking, we must put them in cold water with salt and wait about 7 minutes from when it starts to boil. Once cooked, we set them aside while they cool down.
3. Cook the prawns for 2 or 3 minutes from the moment it starts to boil in salted water. Set aside.
4. Chop the octopus legs into bite-sized squares using scissors . Set aside.
5. Chop the peppers and spring onions into brunoise, either with a mandolin or with a good knife. Set aside.
6. Prepare the vinaigrette by mixing the vinegar, oil, salt and pepper in a jar. Cover and shake to emulsify. Add the lime zest , which will give it a fresh touch.
7. We assemble the salpicón in a bowl , mixing the vegetables, the shredded monkfish, the crab meat, the octopus and the prawns cut into two or three pieces.
8. Add the vinaigrette and mix well. Let it sit for a few hours to allow the flavors to settle.
9. We serve the salpicón in our mini Le Creuset cocottes , sprinkled with chopped fresh parsley and decorated with the tail of a prawn.

Ready to open New Year's Eve dinner.

Virginia