This has been an unlikely star of our menu and a constant best-seller, so much so that we struggle to take it off the menu. I had never realized that Londoners have such an appetite for octopus. Cooking it requires no special equipment or skill, and minimal attention, so it’s nothing to be nervous about. The octopus cooks in its own briny juices which will make it really tender without losing any of the flavor, as happens when you steam or boil it. Frozen octopods are easy to find and are better than fresh, as the freezing helps to tenderize them. If you do get a fresh one, you will need to bash it against a wall repeatedly for 10 minutes or so, then hang it on a washing line in the sun to tenderize, as they do in Greece. This method may damage your wall paint and the general cleanliness of your home, plus it may tire your arm and shoulder. Better perhaps to freeze the beast for a few hours and defrost it later. We like to serve this dish with a fresh, light celery salad.
Makes 4 light main course portions, or an excellent starter for 6
1 large octopus, defrosted (about 3–4 lb/1.5–1.8kg before cooking)
1 small leek, cut in 3 large pieces
3 medium stalks of celery, cut in 3 pieces
2½ tsp whole coriander seeds
2½ tsp whole fennel seeds
1 heaped tsp whole black peppercorns
¼ cup/60ml white wine
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large red pepper
3 plum tomatoes
¼ tsp salt
2½ tbsp olive oil
1 heaped tsp whole caraway seeds
1 heaped tsp whole cumin seeds
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
3 sprigs of cilantro, picked and chopped
3 light green inner stalks of celery
1 lemon
3 sprigs of cilantro
generous 1 tbsp olive oil
¼ tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 475°F.
Place all the ingredients for cooking the octopus except the olive oil in a large pan with a lid, cover and cook in the center of the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and open the lid carefully; there will be clouds of steam, as the octopus will have let out a large amount of water. Stir well and try to make sure as much of the octopus as possible is submerged, then re-cover and return to the oven. Lower the heat to 400°F and cook for another 30 minutes. Remove from the oven again, stir and re-submerge the octopus, then re-cover and return to the oven to cook for a further 30 minutes, this time at 350°F.
Insert a small knife into one of the thick tentacles—it should go in easily. If it feels rubbery, return the pan to the oven for another 10 minutes or so before checking again. Once tender, remove from the oven and leave to cool in the pan.
When it is cool enough to handle, remove the octopus from the cooking liquid and place on a chopping board. Remove the small cap and scrape out any impurities from inside, then cut it into rings that resemble calamari and place these in a bowl. In the middle of the beast where all the legs connect is the beak, a small hard ball that is easily removed with a knife. Discard this. Next are the tentacles: separate them from each other and cut each in half. You should now have a thin end bit and a thicker top bit—cut the thicker one down its length so that all the pieces are more or less the same size. Place in a bowl with the other pieces and coat them in the olive oil. You can prepare this stage a day in advance if you want—just cover and keep in the fridge until you are ready to fry it.
If you are preparing the octopus and the meshwiya sauce on the same day, you can put the vegetables in to roast when the octopus goes in for its first 30 minutes in the oven. Otherwise, if you’ve prepared the octopus in advance, preheat the oven to 475°F.
Quarter the pepper and remove the seeds and any white pith. Cut into roughly ⅓ in/1cm cubes and place in a roasting pan. Cut each tomato into 4–5 thick slices and add to the peppers. Sprinkle with the salt and 1¼ tbsp of the olive oil and roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Allow to cool, then chop finely.
Lower the heat to 400°F, roast the caraway and cumin on a tray for 3 minutes, and allow to cool. You can do this in the same oven as the octopus while it is cooking for its second 30 minutes, if you’re preparing the sauce and octopus on the same day. Crush the roasted seeds using a pestle and mortar, or chop them finely with a knife.
Chop the garlic as finely as you can and mix in a bowl with the chopped roasted vegetables and crushed seeds. Add the remaining 1¼ tbsp olive oil and the chopped cilantro. Stir well to combine. You can make this sauce a day in advance too—just refrigerate until you are ready to cook.
Peel the celery to remove the stringy parts, then cut into thin slices and place in a bowl. Reserve a few celery leaves to garnish. Cut the lemon in half. Juice one half into the bowl and cut the other half into the thinnest slices possible. Add the lemon slices to the bowl. Pick the leaves off the cilantro and add them too, as well as the oil and the salt. Mix well.
When you are ready to assemble the dish, set a large frying pan on a high heat, add the octopus along with the olive oil that was covering it and fry for 6–7 minutes, allowing the octopus pieces to heat up and caramelize.
Spread the meshwiya sauce on individual plates and top with the hot octopus. Spoon the celery salad all over, add a few celery leaves onto each plate and serve.