Chargrilled Octopus with White Bean Puree and Chilli Oil
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 5 hours
Difficulty: Medium
Ingredients
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1kg South West Octopus, raw and cleaned
EVOO
Salt
White Bean Puree
400g can cannellini beans, rinsed
50g almond meal
2 tsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ cup EVOO
Salt, to taste
Chilli Oil
½ cup Asian chilli powder (mix of chilli powder and seeds)
2 tbsp Szechuan peppercorns
2 star anise
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup grapeseed oil (or any neutral oil)
Method
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1. For the octopus, rinse under cold water removing excess slime. Separate the tentacles into sous vide bags (or sandwich bags). I put three tentacles per bag. Season with olive oil and salt. I would also double bag these to be safe (so the bag doesn’t split). Place into the sous vide for 79 degrees for 5 hours.
2. For the white bean puree, in a food processor, blitz the beans, almond meal, lemon juice and garlic until smooth. Gradually stream in the olive oil until thick and creamy. Prior to serving, add to saucepan and stir on low heat until warm. Season with salt and pepper and then for serving, drizzle with oil.
3. For the chilli oil, place oil in a saucepan. Separately toast the star anise, cinnamon stick, aby leaves, Sichuan peppercorns until smoking. Add spices into oil and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. Remove and cool. Place chilli powder and salt into bowl. Strain the oil over the mix. Add in larger items such as cinnamon stick, star anise, bay leaves and leave to infuse. Place in airtight jar, and set some aside for serving.
4. To finish octopus, drain from sous vide. Place onto heated BBQ or coal grill for 2-3 minutes until charred. Remove.
5. To plate, place some of the white bean puree on a plate, portion the cooked octopus, serve with diced cucumber, and drizzle chilli oil on top to finish.
