"Nowhere in space will we rest our eyes upon the familiar shapes of trees and plants, or any of the animals that share our world. Whatsoever life we meet will be as strange and alien as the nightmare creatures of the ocean abyss….."
Arthur C. Clarke, 1962
Have you ever wondered about the mysteries of the ocean? About the things that lie hidden in it's depths? In an aqueous wormhole, some 1500 fathoms beneath the sea, will we someday find the things we search for…the meaning of life, the philosopher's stone, a new form of delicious, a cure for what ails us, proof of genius, lost socks?
It is said that in our final moments the archetypes that make up our lives will flash before our eyes. If there is truth in that, I am certain that my life-album would include images of a scuba diving excursion on a coral reef.
Fifty feet below the surface, all of the senses disconnect except for vision. Devoid of touch, sound, smell or taste to gather information, the optic nerves become tuned to a superhuman frequency. It is the ultimate voyeuristic experience. Light, as refracted through the pellucidity of water, is astonishing and produces a chromatic carnival that does not exist on dry land. Familiar shapes undulate and shift into anomalous forms.
In that alien landscape, I did not find keys that unlock the mysteries of the universe, but I did find treasure: The absolute beauty of hostility with purpose. That deliciousness can be experienced without taste or smell. And that iridescence is proof of genius.
Now if I could only find that cashmere sock.
octopus squid sea beans potatoes romescu begonia
Playing with Fire and Water 
that is amazingly gorgeous, wow! i am always in admiration of your work!!
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I know it will be in your next post (that’s your modus operandi), but what is the base of octopus and squid made of… a squid mousseline? What is the texture?
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Chad-
the base is made from pressure-cooked baby octopus and pureed raw squid bound with an Activa slurry, then sous vide at 50C…kinda like your oyster loaf.
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This is terribly beautiful and you’re immensely ingenious, if I may say so. I love squids, oysters, practically any seafood, but never have I thought of eating the seabed.
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You broke your MO and threw me off!
What kind of Activa are you making a slurry with? I know that the RM is not best for slurries.
This is a little different from the oyster block in that the oysters were cooked then glued.
How do you like the texture of the squid at 50C sous-vide? We had ‘rings n curls’ on the menu for awhile that were cooked sous-vide, but ended up going with old fashioned ‘a la plancha’ to get that great texture and buttery flavor that’s so hard to reproduce any other way. Maybe the pureeing opens new doors here for other methods.
Also, what is the clear stringy thing? Is it sugar or some sort of bean thread noodle?
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Chad-
I did a few tests with the Activa RM. Using it dry produced a denser texture than with a slurry, but a pasty slurry held better than a loose one. The one that I sous-vide at 60C was chewier and released more liquid than at 50C, but an overnight pressing and chilling took care of that. In conclusion, the thicker slurry and lower temp produced the best texture, but was also trickier to slice. I also think that the flavor would have been enhanced by a quick sear on ‘la plancha’.
The clear stringy thing is onion juice and isomalt. I’ve been playing with onion caramel-not quite there yet.
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