Octopus and Potato with Shallot & White Balsamic Flavour Pearls

Octopus and Potato with Shallot & White Balsamic Flavour Pearls

Octopus and Potato with Shallot & White Balsamic Flavour Pearls

Octopus and Potato with Shallot & White Balsamic Flavour Pearls

Octopus is a delight to eat and much easier to prepare than you may think. Served with our deliciously sour Shallot & White Balsamic Flavour Pearls, buttery Kipfler Potatoes and a smattering of Tomato petals and Caper Berries. Oh yum!

What you’ll need – 4 servings

For the Octopus

  • Around 1 kg fresh Octopus tentacles – you’ll have to go to the market or your local fish shop for this
  • 1 – 3 cups good olive oil
  • Garlic – around 12 peeled cloves
  • Chilli – a couple of whole dried or sprinkle of flakes or none at all if you prefer
  • Thyme – fresh, a few branches
  • big pinch salt and a few whole black peppercorns

Accompaniments

To do…

Firstly you need to put a pot of water on to boil that will be large enough to fit in the octopus tentacles. Once the water comes to the boil carefully drop in the octopus and cook until the water comes back to a boil again…refresh in ice cold water. The tentacles should have curled up nicely now. You can divide individual tentacles with a sharp knife if you like now. 
We cooked our Octopus long and slow in olive oil with flavourings and this can done easily at home few different ways depending on what equipment you may have.
  1. Sous Vide – Place your Octopus into a bag and add up to 1 cup of olive oil and all flavourings. Seal the bag. Cook in sous vide unit at 77 – 80c for about 4 hours. (this can be stored for 3 – 4 days in the fridge if you want to prepare it early)
  2. Oven – Place Octopus and flavourings in an oven safe pot/dish with enough olive oil to just cover everything. Place the pot onto the stove and heat until it’s too hot to touch before putting into the oven at the lowest temperature for around 4 hours.
  3. Slow cooker – Place Octopus and flavourings into your slow cooker with enough olive oil to just cover everything. Cook at the lowest heat setting for around 4 hours.
The goal is to have tender Octopus and you can check by taking a piece out and poke it with a sharp knife or slice a little off and eat it. It may need a little longer cooking if too tough still. 
.

While the Octopus is cooking… you can prepare the other components of your dish.

Give your kipfler potatoes a bit of a scrub if they are very dirty then place in a pot of cold water with a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a gentle boil and cook until you can easily poke them with a fork. Drain off the hot water and allow to cool to a point that you are able to handle them. When cooled, take a small sharp knife and carefully peel off the skin from the potatoes. Slice into desired size and set aside.

Cut your tomatoes into wedges and remove the juicy seeds. Slice to desired size. Pick and wash the parsley. Halve the caper-berries if they are large.

Time to serve

I prefer the octopus and potatoes to be served warm to room temperature, particularly as I like to make a last minute buttery emulsion with some of the cooking juices and the butter. Omit the butter if you want to eat your dish cold.

So take your serving plate and simply arrange your Octopus (sliced), potatoes, tomatoes, caper-berries as you wish. Add a spoon or two of Shallot & White Balsamic Flavour Pearls as well.

The oil that the Octopus was cooked in will have a liquidy layer on the bottom that is full of flavour. Melt the butter in a small bowl in microwave or saucepan until almost melted. Add around a teaspoon of the Octopus juice to the butter and whisk to combine. Have a little taste…you may wish to add a touch more liquid. Add a drizzle to each plate…Oh yum!

Now pour the wine and enjoy

Until next time

from the Peninsula Larder Team

‘Spilling hot coffee on your lap wakes you up faster than drinking it’

Anonymous 

Related Posts
SCROLL UP