Chargrilled Fremantle Octopus Puttanesca
Try out the recipe below at your next dinner party and impress your guests with your advanced culinary expertise!
Prep Time
• Prep & Cook time: about 6 hours
• Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
• Octopus
• good pinch salt
• pinch dried chilli
• flake salt to season
• ½ anchovy, chopped
• 1 lemon cheek to finish
• 100ml extra virgin olive oil
• 4 Large Fremantle Octopus ‘hands’
• good pinch freshly ground black pepper
Salad:
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 large Royal Blue potato
• 1 punnet rainbow cherry tomatoes
Red sauce:
• 1 chilli, chopped
• 200ml tomato puree
• 1 clove garlic, minced
Garnish:
• nasturtium leaves
• bronze fennel fronds
• oxalis or woodland sorrel leaves
• 100g rinsed capers, drained well
• 150g cheeks of mixed local olives
• ½ cup vegetable oil for deep frying
• 3 anchovy fillets, premium quality, cut into 4
Method
- For the octopus, cut legs into individual tentacles and run under cold water for 5 minutes. Rub tentacles between 2 tea towels to remove excess slime until dry.
- To wrap them into a ‘scroll’ shape, start with the thickest part of the tentacle and slowly wrap around itself, suckers pointing out, until you get to the end and tuck thin end between 2 rows of suckers. Season.
- Place octopus scrolls in a sous-vide bag with olive oil, seasoning, anchovy and chilli. Seal on full suction. Cook the legs at 85°C for 3 hours in a sous-vide poacher (such as the Breville ‘The One’ Precision Poacher).
- Plunge bag into ice water and chill for 1 hour. Remove from bag and pat dry. Reserve the juices.
- For the salad, blanch the cherry tomatoes in boiling water for 10 seconds and refresh in plenty of ice water. Once cool, peel, toss in olive oil and a few drops of white wine vinegar and place in dehydrator for 2 hours to intensify and dry slightly.
- Scoop 12 balls of potato with a parisienne scoop and poach in pot of seasoned water until tender. Set aside.
- Rinse, drain and chill garnish herbs.
- For the red sauce, fry minced garlic and chopped chilli in a wide pan.
- Add the octopus cooking juices and reduce by half. Add tomato puree and cook until thick and glossy and starting to split. Taste for seasoning and set aside.
- To finish and garnish, deep fry the capers until no bubbles come from them, drain on paper towel and set aside.
- Brush octopus with oil and chargrill as needed. Season with flake salt and squeeze over lemon cheek.
- Place grilled octopus on a serving plate. Press potato balls in between coiled layers to create a gap.
- Drizzle with the red sauce. Top with warmed semi-dried tomatoes. Scatter with anchovy pieces, olive cheeks and fried capers.
- Scatter garnish herbs and add some fresh cracked pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
This great family recipe is thanks to Harvey Norman Recipes at https://www.harveynorman.com.au/blog/recipes/chargrilled-fremantle-octopus-puttanesca/
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