O is for Octopus

I first encountered octopus in Milan a few years ago. Baby octopus served in a bell jar atop ratatouille and mashed potatoes - for me, absolute comfort food. When I got home I was on a mission to find and cook octopus. Years later it is still a struggle to find fresh octopus, but cooking it is easy.

This recipe is meant for a whole octopus. My visit to our local Asian market yielded cuttlefish, squid, live eels,frogs and turtles for cooking but no octopus. My last go with cuttlefish taught me that they are not the same as octopus. I was just starting to eye the fresh conch meat, thinking about the workout I might get pounding it into submission, when I decided to ask the seafood man about octopus. They had frozen young octopus. Not ideal, but worth a try.

This recipe from Food & Wine is a keeper - colorful, textural, flavorful and healthy. And easy - once the octopus is braising you can relax and get the salad ready, or have a glass of wine, or read my blog, or have a glass of wine, or...

Pan Seared Octopus with Italian Vegetable Salad

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
One 2 1/2-pound octopus—cleaned, head and tentacles separated
6 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (If you don't like spicy, go easy here - but it is really good spicy)
One 750-milliliter bottle dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 fennel bulb—halved lengthwise, cored and thinly sliced (Cut the slices bite sized - otherwise it will be difficult to scoop with your fork)
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced crosswise (Holy heck, you should see the size of the carrots they had at the Asian mart. - sadly, bigger does not mean sweeter)
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
3 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
One 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
Kosher salt
1/2 cup lightly packed parsley leaves
4 large radicchio leaves
Fennel fronds, for garnish (optional)

In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the octopus and cook over moderately high heat, turning, until lightly browned all over, 2 to 3 minutes. (The octopus will give off a lot of liquid, even if you dry it with paper towels - cook it in batches and drain it or you will braise it rather than sear it

Transfer the octopus to a plate. Add the garlic cloves to the casserole and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add the crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Carefully add the white wine and bring to a boil. Return the octopus to the casserole; if necessary, add up to 1 cup of water to cover the octopus. Cover the casserole and braise over moderately low heat until very tender, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. (Keep an eye on the liquid in the pot - towards the end it will get pretty low)Transfer the octopus to a plate and let cool completely.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the red wine vinegar with the lemon juice, oregano and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the fennel, carrot, onion, scallions, chickpeas and a generous pinch of salt and mix well. Let stand for 30 minutes or up to 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Stir in the parsley and season the salad with salt.

Using a paper towel, wipe the purple skin off the octopus tentacles, leaving the suckers intact. Cut the tentacles in half lengthwise, then cut them into 3-inch lengths. Cut the head into 1 1/2-inch pieces. (Not necessary with baby octopus)

In a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the octopus cut side down and cook over moderately high heat until well-browned on the bottom, about 1 minute. Turn the octopus and cook for 20 seconds longer. Transfer the seared octopus to a paper towel—lined plate to blot any excess oil and season lightly with salt. Transfer the octopus to plates. Fill the radicchio leaves with the Italian salad and set beside the octopus. (I just sliced the radicchio instead)

Garnish with fennel fronds and serve.

By the way, did you know that one of the arms on a male octopus is "special"? This is one of the entertaining octopus fun facts linked here:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/20445/8-octopus-facts-one-each-arm

Enjoy.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Rockville