The Original Recipe for a Southern-Scented Christmas Meal

Steps for making the octopus salad

Begin by cooking the accompanying rice and set it aside to keep warm. Zest the lemon and squeeze half of it. Cut one orange into quarters and remove the segments. Squeeze the remaining juice from the oranges. Peel the ginger using a spoon and slice it thinly. In a bowl, combine the orange juice, lemon juice, and tamari. Add pepper, zest, and ginger. Heat the mixture and add the coconut milk. Allow it to boil for approximately 5 minutes. Strain the sauce, making sure to crush the ginger, and keep it warm.

Meanwhile, sauté the octopus tentacles over high heat in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for around 3 minutes on each side. Season with salt and pepper. Then serve the grilled octopus tentacles with the rice, orange quarters, and pour the sauce over the entire dish.

What to cook for a special Christmas meal in Occitanie?

While foie gras is a popular choice for Christmas meals, in Occitanie, it is consumed in a more original way. Typically, foie gras is inserted into a dry-cured duck breast. This delivers a double delight that is then sliced into portions. Keep in mind that this recipe should be prepared more than 15 days before Christmas.

To prepare it, you’ll need a raw lobe of foie gras, a duck breast, and coarse salt. On the day before, cut the foie gras lobe to form a cylinder of approximately 3 centimeters in diameter. Season with salt and pepper and place it in the freezer.

On the day of serving, prepare your duck breast. Remove the skin and make a slit lengthwise starting from one end. Insert the frozen foie gras inside and tie with a butcher’s twine. Place a significant amount of coarse salt in a suitable dish, then place the duck breast on top and cover it with the remaining coarse salt. The duck breast should be completely covered (about 2 kg of salt). Allow it to rest for 7 to 8 hours. Afterwards, rinse the dried duck breast with fresh water, pat it dry, and wrap it in a clean cloth. Store it in the lower part of the refrigerator for 15 days. Then serve it sliced into thin portions.