We've been trying to do cheaper cuts of fish and try different stuff to keep the summer dining exciting. With such long days, we've been filling the afterwork time trying things we've never tried before.
We had octopus the first time at a fancy LA italian place, on a night we were feeling adventurous. It was grilled and had tones of lemon on it, all over a white bean base. Here, we recreate:
First, par cook the octopus. We had a 5 lb one. You're going to boil it to make it tender. either do it in water, or even better add in some celery, carrots, etc to make more of a broth to cook it in. You'll get way better flavor. Do that for maybe an hour and a half at a gentle boil (not hot water, not rolling bubbles).
Let it cool, then peep the purple skin off it. It'll come right off.
Above is the final product. For the beans, just soften a few shallots with olive oil in a pan, then add beans, a glassful of white wine, and let that liquid wine cook off. Then, season with salt, pepper, and lemon.
Do the final bits on the grill. Brush the following with olive oil and put on a really hot grill: bread, halved-tomatoes, and and the octopus. Get some good char marks, remove the legs from the body, and serve as seen above.
