Roberta Hall-McCarron, owner and chef at The Little Chartroom, Eleanore and Ardfern shares her recipe for the ultimate dinner party showstopper: octopus carpaccio alongside a warmed octopus taco. Grab your Chef's Knife, clear off the kitchen counter, and pencil your favourite people in for dinner...
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 whole octopus
- 4 yellow cherry tomatoes
- 6 red cherry tomatoes
- 20g smoked almonds
- 10g micro basil
- 20g black olives
- 10ml olive oil
- 2 banana shallots
- 100g tomato puree
- 150ml white wine
- 2 cloves garlic
- 200ml chicken stock
- Fine salt to taste
- Caster sugar to taste
Romesco
- 150g red peppers
- 35g flaked almonds
- 1/2 tsp sherry vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp paprika
Basil Puree
- 250g basil
- 25g flaked almonds
- Water
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Taco
- 75g corn flour (masa harina)
- 50ml water
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
Method
Pre heat your oven to 160 C. Place the octopus in an ovenproof tray and cover with tinfoil. Cook in the oven for approx. 2 hours, turning the octopus over after 1 hour.
Use a metal spike to check that the octopus is ready, spiking it at the widest part just under the head – if there’s any resistance put it back in the oven until it's completely tender.
When ready, allow the octopus to cool slightly, cut the tentacles from the head, and trim off the thinner parts at the bottom of the tentacles (keep the trim – this will be for the tacos) With the head remove the beak (the round ball at the top of the tentacles / bottom of the head.
Whilst the octopus is still slightly warm, lay a large sheet of cling film flat on your worktop, place 4 tentacles on the cling film, two on top of each other, alternating the thin and thick ends. Use the cling film to roll them into a tight cylinder shape, repeat for the remaining tentacles. Freeze.
Finely chop the head and tentacle trim. Finely dice the shallot, grate the garlic, sweat down in a pot, add in the chopped octopus, then the tomato puree, allow to cook for a few minutes – stirring frequently to avoid it sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Add in the white wine and reduce down, until almost dry. Add in the chicken stock (vegetable stock can be used to keep it pescatarian) and reduce by half – you want the sauce to be thick and coating the octopus, and not too dry.
Semi-dried Tomatoes
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and lightly sprinkle with fine salt and caster sugar, then place on a tray with greaseproof paper and cook in the oven at 70 degrees C for approx. 1-2 hours until softened.
Cut the olives and smoked almonds into a small dice.
Romesco Sauce
Season and place the red peppers in a tray, cover with tinfoil and place in an oven at 175 C. for approx. 45-60 minutes, turning and checking occasionally.
Once cooked remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly, then peel the skin off and remove the seeds, retain any liquid, and put to one side.
Toast the flaked almonds (include the almonds for the basil puree – separate once toasted) Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend to a smooth puree, taste and adjust accordingly, adding in some of the pepper liquid if the consistency is too thick. Transfer to a small piping bag.
Basil Puree
Blanch the basil in boiling, salted water (retain some of the water and allow to cool as it will be used to adjust the consistency of the puree). Refresh the basil in ice water. Once chilled squeeze out any excess water, place in a blender with the toasted almonds, olive oil and a pinch of salt, blend until smooth, adding in some of the blanching water if needed. Taste and adjust the seasoning as required. If the puree is warm, cool down in a bowl over ice to retain the vibrant green colour. Transfer to a small piping bag.
Taco
Mix the flour, water and salt together until it forms a dough, then divide into 10g portions. Using a taco press, flatten in between two sheets of greaseproof paper. Store in an air tight container until needed.
To Finish
Remove the cling film and slice the frozen octopus into 1cm thick slices (ideally using a slicing machine, but it can also be achieved using a sharp knife – just be careful and allow it to thaw a little).
Lay the slices of octopus flat on a plate, brush lightly with olive oil, sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
Scatter the chopped olives and smoked almonds, pipe dots of romesco sauce and basil puree, next the semi dried tomatoes and finish with the micro basil.
In a medium – hot skillet pan with a little oil, pan fry the taco, cook for approx. 1-2 mins on each side. Warm the bolognese in a pot and spoon on top of the taco. Finish by piping the romesco and basil puree on top.