Anticiplate

I really like you, 2010. You have me motivated to cook like I have never cooked before. I mean, like yesterday, I cooked for four hours. Just for fun. And, the day before, another full day of cooking. Maybe it is because the last phase of my “Stage” is about to come to an end (tear..), and I feel like I need to “up the anty” for myself. Whatever it is, 2010, I am not complaining.

So….(drumroll, please)…… I give you OCTOPUS. Awe, come on. Don’t be scared.

Remember how I told you I like to order the “weird” thing on the menu at restaurants? Well, I have the same quirkiness with octopus. If I am perusing a menu and I see octopus, I order it. Yup. Even if it was at Applebee’s. Yeah, yeah.  I know what you are thinking, how boring. Even trite. But, I am on a rampage.

Don’t worry. Erik thinks I am ridiculous, too.

I have had an impressive version at Txori one afternoon before I went to work. I popped the pulpo da feira served with potato, pimento pepper, and lagrima oil into my mouth and I closed my eyes, speechless by the balance of flavor that went down to my belly. Lola serves octopus in their hash with pork belly, chickpeas, eggs, and fall squash. I liked the octopus, but I couldn’t put back as much as I usually do.  Maybe because it was 9 am? But the best version of octopus, the very best one that I have had, is the one I learned from the chefs at Tavolata. I could eat four entire beasts the way they prepare it.

Now, in my experiences “Staging” there have not been many dishes I have actually done from start to finish. Well, maybe this one, which was one of the most exciting posts of my life. But, besides that, I generally just fill in the blanks for the chefs: chop this, juice that, braise this, make this stock, pick this herb. But this dish, I have made a lot from start to finish. Probably over twenty times. That’s a lot, right?

And, can I just tell you that I am tickled pink that I have found my “way” of cooking octopus.

Maybe I like working with octopus because it is actually a form of seafood I know how to break down, unlike a Hamachi or a Fluke. You basically decapitate the octopus (morbid, I know), pull this little chewing-gum-looking piece out of it’s neck with your pointer finger, and cut it in half. Yup. it’s that simple.

Now, octopus seems to be all the rage in Seattle. Articles like this, and like this have come out, trying to find Seattle’s best destination for octopus. Honestly, I really don’t care. I like my version. And, I think you will too. It’s not that rubbery stuff you get at sushi restaurants that tastes like a cold pencil eraser and squeaks in your mouth. Trust me. This octopus is tender, and slightly buttery with the perfect amount of subtle red wine flavor paired with the char from the grill. Not to mention the fixin’s that go underneath and around the octopus!  Mmm Mmm.

Did I convince you, yet?

Serves 4

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: Braising-1 hour Assembling- 10 minutes

1 lb. whole baby octopus, heads removed and cut in half if they are on the bigger side

1 1/2 c. good red wine

1 1/2 c. red wine vinaiger

5 sprigs fresh thyme

2 garlic cloves, skin removed and smashed

Kosher salt

1 small fennel bulb, outer layer peeled, cored and thinly sliced on the mandoline

2 tbsp. salt packed capers, rinsed

1/4 c. nicoise olives

1 preserved meyer lemon, flesh and pith removed and julienned

1/4 c. flat leaf parsley leaves, left whole

1/2 lemon, juiced

Olive oil

Kosher salt and cracked black pepper

Anchovy Pesto, recipe below

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Place the octopus in a single layer in a large pot with a tight fitting lid. Sprinkle evenly, and liberally with kosher salt. Cover the octopus with the red wine, red wine vinegar, thyme, and garlic. It should almost cover the octopus. It is okay if they are not fully submerged.

Rip a large sheet of parchment paper and lay it on top of the octopus so that it touches them. Make sure the parchment has at least a 1 inch over-hang over the pot. Seal with a tight fitting lid. Place in the oven for 1 hour or until the octopus are tender and not chewy.

Drain the braising liquid, the thyme, and the garlic. Set the octopus on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Meanwhile, assemble your salad in a small bowl. Combine all of the ingredients except for the lemon juice and olive oil.

Prepare a grill pan over a high flame. Drizzle the octopus with olive oil and season with kosher salt and cracked black pepper. Place the octopus on the grill to char their skin, about two minutes. Meanwhile, squeeze the lemon on top of the salad and drizzle a small amount of olive oil. Toss. The dressing should not be too acidic. If it is, add more oil. You do not want the salad to be juicy, but just lightly dressed so that you can taste all of the flavors together.

Flip the octopus over for one more minute.

Pull the octopus off the grill and drizzle with a little more olive oil and a splash of lemon juice. To plate, drop a spoonful of the anchovy pesto (recipe below) on each small salad plate. Pull your spoon through the sauce so that it makes a line across the plate. Top with some of the octopus. Pile a small amount of the fennel salad on top. Serve immediately.

Anchovy Pesto

1/4 c. anchovies, packed in oil

4 sundried tomatoes, packed in oil

1/4 c. flat leaf parsley leaves

the zest of one lemon

1 garlic clove, smashed

olive oil

kosher salt

Blend the anchovy, tomato, garlic, lemon zest and parsley in the food processor until finely minced like a tapenade. Drizzle in the olive oil (about 1/2 c.) until the mixture is saucy. Pulse a couple of times and season to taste. It should be thin enough to hold firm on a plate but not too thin that the oil is runny.