 |
Prep Time: 60 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes |
Ready In: 80 Minutes Servings: 2 |
|
They've been having a run on fresh baby octopus at the local supermarket. So, I am trying a lot of menus. I think that baby octopus has more nuance of flavor than the mature variety. There are some other recipes listed on site I plan to try, once I acquire the rest of the needed ingredients. Yes, you can use any variety of potato you have at hand, but Yukon Gold seems to trump just about any other I've run into, in terms of flavor. Play around with liquid quantities: it really does depend on the size of cooking pot. Ponzu sauce: this is a Japanese sauce based on soy, but with a citrus overlay. Most supermarkets carry it. Ingredients:
4 medium yukon gold potatoes |
olive oil |
tarragon |
rosemary |
1 lb baby octopus |
5 ounces ponzu sauce |
3 teaspoons lemon juice |
1/4 cup dry white wine |
1/4 cup water |
4 baby portabella mushrooms, chopped |
1 shallot, sliced |
1 garlic clove, diced |
ground pepper |
crushed red pepper flakes (optional) |
Directions:
1. Separate heads from tentacles, and cut the larger heads in half; cut the tentacles into two or four bunches. Marinate the baby octopi for at least one hour in a mixture of Ponzu sauce, lemon juice, wine, shallot and garlic. You may also add the mushrooms here.
2. Meanwhile, rinse the potatoes, cut out any eyes, and slice about 1/4 inch. Place on baking pan and mix in ground pepper, tarragon, and rosemary, to taste. (Fresh is nicest, but dried will do.) Add a little olive oil to prevent burning.
3. Roast in pre-heated 350 F degree oven for 15-20 minutes.
4. Drain marinate from the baby octopi into cooking pot (dimensions of your pot are important, you want as small a surface area as possible to minimize addition of water). At this point, add the 1/4 cup water.
5. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer.
6. Add octopi, and additional water to cover, if needed. (You could ainstead add any or all of the other liquids to taste, as additional ideas)
7. Bring liquid back to a rapid simmer, not a full-fledged boil. For baby octopi, simmer this way 15-20 minutes. Avoid too much liquid, but also avoid burning.
8. Time your finish time to coincide more or less with the potato finish time, with the potatoes finishing first. Layer potatos on a serving plate, and pour the octopus dish over this. If you have too much liquid, then strain your octopus out and place over potatoes, although be sure some of its cooking marinate is served.
9. For a little spice, add the crushed hot red pepper flakes at serving time. It's a nice extra bit of spice.
|
|