This Recipe is courtesy of our friend and collaborator, Jen Yuen of Sunday Dinner Diary.
Follow Jen on Instagram @SundayDinnerDiary to see more great recipes!
Impress & treat Your Hungry Friends at your next dinner party with this delicious octopus appetizer, which can also be served as a main course.
I combined the flavors & recipe concepts for 2 of my favorite tapas from Spanish Cuisine — Pulpo A La Gallega & Patatas Bravas — to create this Sundaydinnerdiary Spin on these Spanish Food classics.
TIP: Freeze the octopus before cooking, as defrosting will naturally tenderize it.
Ingredients:
Octopus & Potatoes:
3 TBSP Kosher Salt
3 Bay leaves
5 Yukon Gold #Potatoes
Quality Spanish Olive OiL, as needed
Smoked Spanish Paprika, as needed
Microgreens, to garnish
Maldon Salt, to garnish & to taste
“Bravas”-Inspired Sauce:
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1/2 cup Ketchup
3 cloves finely minced garlic
1 TSP Smoked Paprika
1/4 cup Quality Spanish Olive Oil
1 TSP Tabasco Sauce, or to taste
Preparations:
Octopus:
Bring large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Turn heat down to medium. Dip a whole octopus tentacles first into the water 3 times. Tentacles will curl, then submerge, add bay leaves, cover & cook for 25 mins. Turn off heat entirely & poach (covered) for additional 25 mins. Remove octopus from water & cool. Discard head & separate the tentacles. Using a paper towel, gently wipe off outer layer of skin from tentacles. Set on a parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle with EVOO.
Potatoes:
Peel & boil potatoes in salted water for 25 mins. Cool, slice, then stack & press slices into round metal molds. Drizzle with EVOO. Set them on a lined baking sheet.
Bake potatoes in 400F oven for 10 mins, then turn on the broiler. Place the prepared octopus in the oven as well. Broil everything for 5 additional minutes to get a slight char
Sautée garlic in EVOO until fragrant then combine with all sauce ingredients. Mix well.
Add sauce, then nestle a potato “cake” on top. Place octopus over the potato. Garnish with EVOO, paprika, microgreens, maldon.
