Slow-braised octopus

SERVES 2

When you buy octopus from your fishmonger, it will usually have been tumbled to tenderise it, and the skin will have been removed, so all you need to do is give it a wash to clean out any sand lurking in the sucker pads. Octopus differs from red meat in that it doesn’t require long cooking to become tender. You can tell when it is cooked in the same way you check whether your boiled potatoes are cooked – insert a knife tip into the thickest part, and if it meets no resistance it is done.

½ fennel bulb, sliced

½ red onion, sliced

1 chorizo sausage, sliced

1 large octopus leg, about 350 g (12 oz)

3 tablespoons olive oil

500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) dark German wheat beer (dunkel), such as Weihenstephaner Dunkel, Erdinger Dunkel or Franziskaner

3 long, fresh rosemary sprigs

8 cherry tomatoes

chopped fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, to garnish

Place the fennel, onion and chorizo in a baking dish. Put the octopus leg on top, drizzle with the olive oil, then pour in the beer. Season with plenty of freshly ground black pepper and add the rosemary. Do not salt the octopus as it will be salty anyway, and added salt may toughen it during cooking. Mix with your hands so that everything gets nicely combined and well coated. Using a sharp knife, make a small cross in the bottom of each cherry tomato and scatter them around the dish. Cover the dish and marinate for a couple of hours, or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F/Gas 3). Remove the dish from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. Cover the dish tightly with foil, then prick the foil once to allow steam to escape. Bake until the octopus is fork-tender – this should take about 45 minutes, or up to 1 hour at the most.

Cut thin slices from the octopus leg and arrange on a plate. Dress with the fennel, onion, chorizo and tomatoes from the dish and spoon some of the cooking juices over. Garnish with the parsley and serve.