It's a little bit of a love hate relationship between me and the octopus. It's so yummy but the handling of a raw one somewhat creeps me out too. It takes a little mental preparation to brave the soft, slippery, slimy tentacles covered with suction cups to clean and cut it.
But here you go, this is one of the times I managed to overcome my fear and the result makes it so worthwhile.
Difficulty: Medium
Time: 1 hour
Serves: 2
Ingredients
Wine Braised Octopus
- tentacles of 1 medium octopus (approx. 1 kg)
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 large onion sliced
- 3 tomatoes roughly chopped
- 2 garlic minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp parsley chopped
Dill and Parsley Dressing
- 1/4 cup fresh dill finely chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley finely chopped
- 1 garlic minced
- juice and zest from 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Taramasalata
- 2 tbsp taramasalata
- pinch paprika
To Serve
- slices of sour dough toasted
Method
1. Add the tentacles of the octopus, red wine vinegar, wine and bay leaf in a cast iron pot and bring it to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer on low heat for 40 minutes. Do not add salt and water as the octopus is naturally salty and would release enough liquid once cooked.
2. Prepare the dill and parsley by mixing dill, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil in a bowl. Mix it well and let it marinade.
3. When the octopus is cooked, remove it from the pot and keep the juices in a bowl.
4. Dry the cast iron pot, heat up some oil and add the onions and garlic and cook until softened and fragrant over medium hate. Add the tomatoes and cook until softened. Deglaze the pot with balsamic vinegar and let it evaporate before adding back the octopus juice, honey, pepper and fresh parsley. Cook it for a further 5 minutes.
5. Finish off the octopus by either charring it on a very hot cast iron pan, or on hot charcoal to allow the octopus get crispy and take on the smokey flavour.
6. Plate by spooning some taramasalata on one side of the plate with some paprika sprinkled on top. Place some tentacles on the other side of the plate, dress generously with the sauce and garnish with the dill and parsley dressing. Enjoy with nice slices of toasted sour dough!
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