Claire Wilson
THEY say that to most clouds there is a silver lining… and with the growing problem of jellyfish on the Mediterranean this autumn, thankfully there is also a solution.
It turns out jellyfish are a real delicacy in Asiatic countries, in particular Japan and China, and can be found in plenty of oriental restaurants around Europe. With the growth of Chinese immigrants to Europe, and particularly Spain, increasing at a high rate, perhaps the jellyfish problem has found a salvation.
Here the Olive Press offers a delicious way to eat them:
125g jellyfish ready-to-eat
500g potatoes
75g butter
3tsp toasted sesame oil 3tbsp fresh spring onions 1 tsp fresh ginger
2 Large handfuls fresh coriander leaves
2 tsp sweet chilli sauce
Method
Squeeze as much water as possible out of the jellyfish, then pat dry with cloth or kitchen roll to remove more water.
Chop thinly into shreds the size of tagliatelle, and about 2cm long. Place on a cloth to continue drying (you really need to get as much moisture as possible out of them). Meanwhile, make your mashed potato:
Peel the potatoes, then chop them into walnut-sized chunks. Place them in a pan of hot water, bring to the boil and continue boiling for 12-15 minutes until tender.
Drain the potatoes thoroughly, then mash thoroughly. Add the butter, salt and pepper and stir through.
In a bowl, mix the toasted sesame oil, spring onions, ginger, chopped coriander and sweet chili dipping sauce together and stir well.
Put the mash into one large mixing bowl and add half of the toasted sesame oil/herb mixture, and mix together. In a second bowl, add the chopped jellyfish and the remaining toasted sesame oil/herb mixture, and mix together.
To make your burgers (you are basically making a mashed potato sandwich with the jellyfish mixture in the middle):
First take a handful of herby potato mixture and make a very flat disk the size of your palm. Lay it on a chopping board.
Take a slightly smaller handful of the jellyfish mixture and place it on the potato so that it doesn’t reach the edges.
Take another handful of potato and place it on the top. Mould the mixture around so that the jellyfish is cased in potato.
Heat a non-stick frying pan until medium-hot, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil and fry the burgers one at a time for only 2 mins on each side. You just need to brown the outsides (remember that the jellyfish and potato are all cooked and ready to eat.
Serve with jellyfish salad and sweet chilli dipping sauce
