Octopus á Feira
Cornish octopus simmered gently in the kamado until a knife glides through, then charred hard over the coals and laid over seared new potatoes with a smoky mojo rojo. A Galician market dish gone west. Twenty five years with Rick Stein and now host of the Fire & Food Quarter, STEPHANE DELOURME cooks it on the Monolith kamado.
Ingredients
SERVES 6 TO 8
Allergens: molluscs (octopus). sulphites.
THE OCTOPUS
1 small to medium Cornish octopus, about 1.5 to 2kg, cleaned, from Rockfish
1 large onion, quartered
1 lemon, halved
2 bay leaves
½ tsp black peppercorns
Water, enough to cover
No salt at this stage
Avocado oil, for the grill
Pimentón, to finish
800g small Cornish new potatoes
2 to 3 tbsp good avocado cooking oil
1 garlic clove, lightly crushed
1 sprig rosemary
Sea salt and black pepper
2 roasted red peppers, peeled and deseeded
2 garlic cloves
1 small red chilli, or ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
Juice of ½ lemon
80ml cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
30ml avocado oil
Sea salt and black pepper
Cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
Flaky sea salt
Pimentón
Black pepper
Flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Lemon, a final squeeze
Method
1. Set up the Monolith for indirect cooking, around 150 to 160°C.
2. Put the octopus, onion, lemon, bay leaves and peppercorns into the pot and cover with water. Do not salt the cooking liquor; salt tightens the flesh, and the seasoning comes at the end. Bring up to a gentle simmer and cook until tender, roughly 60 to 90 minutes for a 1.5 to 2kg octopus. Check with a small knife or skewer into the thickest part of the tentacle. It should slide in easily.
3. Remove the octopus and let it drain and cool slightly. Keep the tentacles whole.
4. Blend the peppers, garlic, chilli, paprika, cumin, sherry vinegar, lemon juice and both oils until smooth but not completely puréed. Taste and adjust with sherry vinegar, lemon and salt. It should have enough acidity and spice to work with the octopus without overpowering it.
5. Boil the potatoes until just tender, drain and let them steam dry. Cut the larger ones in half. Heat the plancha on the Monolith, add the avocado oil, garlic and rosemary, then the potatoes cut side down. Sear until deeply golden and crisp, and season with sea salt and black pepper.
6. Get the Monolith very hot, around 220 to 250°C. Lightly brush the cooked tentacles with avocado oil and grill hard for 1 to 2 minutes each side until beautifully charred at the edges.
7. Slice the warm tentacles into generous pieces and arrange over the seared potatoes. Spoon the mojo rojo on the side, then finish with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, flaky sea salt, pimentón, black pepper, chopped parsley and a final squeeze of lemon.
More Recipes Ideas
Method
1. Set up the Monolith for indirect cooking, around 150 to 160°C.
2. Put the octopus, onion, lemon, bay leaves and peppercorns into the pot and cover with water. Do not salt the cooking liquor; salt tightens the flesh, and the seasoning comes at the end. Bring up to a gentle simmer and cook until tender, roughly 60 to 90 minutes for a 1.5 to 2kg octopus. Check with a small knife or skewer into the thickest part of the tentacle. It should slide in easily.
3. Remove the octopus and let it drain and cool slightly. Keep the tentacles whole.
4. Blend the peppers, garlic, chilli, paprika, cumin, sherry vinegar, lemon juice and both oils until smooth but not completely puréed. Taste and adjust with sherry vinegar, lemon and salt. It should have enough acidity and spice to work with the octopus without overpowering it.
5. Boil the potatoes until just tender, drain and let them steam dry. Cut the larger ones in half. Heat the plancha on the Monolith, add the avocado oil, garlic and rosemary, then the potatoes cut side down. Sear until deeply golden and crisp, and season with sea salt and black pepper.
6. Get the Monolith very hot, around 220 to 250°C. Lightly brush the cooked tentacles with avocado oil and grill hard for 1 to 2 minutes each side until beautifully charred at the edges.
7. Slice the warm tentacles into generous pieces and arrange over the seared potatoes. Spoon the mojo rojo on the side, then finish with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, flaky sea salt, pimentón, black pepper, chopped parsley and a final squeeze of lemon.
Credits: Stephane Delourme with Gavin Tunnel of Monolith; Monolith kamado from The Barbecue Shack, Bovey Tracey; octopus from Rockfish, Dartmouth; Le Creuset Outdoor Collection; lit by Bryant & May.
