My All-Purpose Marinade

This recipe is my version of a marinade from Luna Rossa, an Italian Restaurant in Tonga, owned by my good friend and great chef, Marco Veranesi.  Marco made a batch of this everyday to sauté mussels, marinate steaks, toast bread for bruschettas and a host of other chores.  I love this on octopus with capers, lemon, and celery for a first course.  Its also fabulous for sauteing chicken in white wine (Poullet au Vin Blanc), steamers Portugese style, and a host of other dishes.  It will keep in the refrigerator for at least a week.

• 8-10 cloves of garlic
• 3 tsp sea salt
• 1 bunch Italian parsley
• 2 cups olive oil
• 2-3 dashes Tabasco sauce

Place garlic, salt and parsley in a food processor, whirl until pureed.  Slowly add olive oil until all is emulsified. 

To use as a marinade:

• Pour 1/2 cup of marinade in a zip-lock bag, add meat of choice:  chicken, pork or beef
• Massage to coat all pieces and let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Refrigerate if longer time is needed but bring to room temperature before grilling.
• Pat dry with paper towel to remove excess marinade before placing over coals.
• May also pan fry in a skillet without removing excess marinade.  Add 1 Tbsp of butter to assist browning.

Tags: beef marinade, bruschettas, chicken marinade, Marinades, octopus salad, seafood marinade