Grilled Spanish Octopus
By: Marc Plessis
Serves 4 people:
Ingredients:
12 pairs octopus tentacles, marinated (see below)
4 tsp kalamata olives, chopped
1 cup confit potatoes, diced (see below)
4 tbsp smoked paprika aioli (see below)
4 tbsp aji amarillo vinaigrette (see below)
salt and pepper
garnish chervil sprigs
Plate up Directions:
1) Season octopus with salt and pepper and place on grill. Only add grill marks for flavor and heat through. Overcooking at this point will make it gummy.
2) In a pot heat up the potatoes and olives, season to taste.
3) Between four plates, place a few dots of aioli, add potato and olive mixture
4) Top with grilled octopus and drizzle the vinaigrette over the dish
5) Serve warm
Recipes:
Preparing the Octopus:
Ingredients:
2 lbs Baby octopus (3 octopus)
1 cup Kosher Salt
Directions:
1) Clean the octopus by rubbing it with the salt. The coarseness of the salt will act as sandpaper the make it easy to remove any natural slime.
2) inse it thoroughly to remove all the salt.
Cooking liquid:
Ingredients:
¼ cup leeks, diced
¼ cup celery, diced
¼ cup carrots, diced
2 each bay leaves
1 tbsp garlic, chopped
4 sprig thyme sprigs
1 tsp black peppercorns
2cups white wine
1 qt water
Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in a stainless steel pot. Bring to a boil then down to a very low simmer.
Add the cleaned octopus, braise until tender. It will take approximately 45 minutes
3) Pull from liquid and air cool on a wire rack
4) Remove the head and the web between the tentacles
Cut the octopus tentacles into pairs and place in the marinade.
Octopus Marinade:
Ingredients:
3 cups olive oil
2 tsp garlic, minced
4-5 sprigs Rosemary
1 pinch Chili flakes
Directions:
1) Combine all the ingredients and the octopus tentacles and marinate overnight.
Confit Potato Procedure:
Ingredients:
4 each fingerling potatoes
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 each bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
pinch kosher salt
pinch ground black pepper
Directions:
1) Combine the ingredients in ovenproof container, cover and place in a 200 degrees oven for about one hour.
Allow them to cool in the oil. Small dice the potatoes and recover with the oil.
Smoked Paprika Aioli:
Ingredients:
¼ Cup roasted garlic puree (see below)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp hot smoked paprika
1 ½ tsp chili powder
to taste salt and pepper
Directions:
1) For the garlic puree, drizzle olive oil over two heads of garlic and wrap them in aluminum foil, bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out garlic
2) Using a food processor combine all the ingredients, reserve
Aji Amarillo Vinaigrette:
Ingredients:
¼ cup aji amarillo puree
3 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ tsp garlic, minced
to taste salt and pepper
Direction:
Whisk all the ingredient together, reserve
