Ingredients
Octopus marinade:
1 Fremantle octopus
18 leaves of baby cos 2 cloves garlic 3 sprigs thyme leaves
1tbsp Espelette pepper
150ml extra virgin olive oil
Pulse all ingredients, except for the octopus, in a food processor until smooth.
Brine:
3l water
300g salt
Ajo blanco:
300g old sourdough (chopped up)
400g blanched almonds
4 cloves garlic
100ml extra virgin olive oil
50ml sherry vinegar
In a food processor, blitz the sourdough, almonds, garlic and olive oil with 750ml water
Season with vinegar and salt to taste
Check the consistency to ensure it is sufficiently thick
Method
To prepare the brine, bring the salt and water to a boil in a heavy-bottomed pan.
Once boiled, whisk to dissolve all the salt and allow to cool.
Once cool, add the octopus and leave it to marinate for 2 hours.
After marination, remove the octopus from the brine and rinse under cold water.
Apply the marinade to the octopus and vacuum seal it tightly in a Cryovac bag.
Heat a large pan of water on the stove to 65°C and place the sealed octopus in the water.
Cook the octopus for 7 hours.
Once cooked, allow it to cool before removing it from the vacuum bag.
To serve:
Rinse the octopus under cold water and cut the tentacles into 2-inch pieces
BBQ the tentacles until well charred.
Add the cos leaves to the BBQ to lightly char them until they wilt.
In a large bowl, combine the octopus and cos, dressing them with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and Espelette pepper.
Season with flake salt.
Spread the ajo blanco on a serving plate, arrange the octopus on and around it, and place the baby cos on top of the octopus. Sprinkle a little more flake salt to finish.
Wine pairing options:
WHITE option 2022 Salvatore Molettieri Greco di Tufo DOCG
RED option 2021 D.M.L. Pinot Noir Mornington Peninsula
Serves 6
Enoteca Boccaccio
Level 1, 1046 Burke Road, Balwyn
