Monsters Of The Black Sea
Grilled Baby Octopus over Squid Ink Fettucine with Clam Tomato Sauce and Fresh Basil
I DON'T LIKE WALKING INTO a supermarket blind; I usually have a very specific shopping agenda that I never stray from. But I hadn't cooked anything in several days, and had already been awake and hungry for two hours when I ambled into Fairway Market at a quarter after seven this morning.
I was surprised to find myself stopping by the baby octopus at the seafood section. I have eaten it—having enjoyed the preparations at Kefi, 'inoteca, and most recently, Balaboosta—but have never made it myself.
So relying on my memories of countless years of TV cooking show-viewing, I took my three raw baby octopi, and threw them into a big pot of abundantly salted boiling water with about a half a cup of clam juice.
I then sautéed some chopped tomato, finely sliced garlic, and chopped basil in a smaller pot, eventually adding tomato paste, some herbes de provence (a gift from my friend Karie's recent trip to Paris), balsamic vinegar, salt, fresh ground pepper, celery salt, and whole clams, giving the whole mixture a good stir, then letting it simmer.
I let the octopi cook (and the sauce simmer) for about 45 minutes, placing dry squid ink fettucine into yet another pot of salted boiling water. I removed the octopi from the hot water, let them drain for half a minute, then threw them into a preheated cast iron skillet with some more clam juice, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and hot Hungarian paprika, coating the tentacled pods an the seasoned juice until the juice was mostly evaporated or absorbed into the nicely charred edges of the sea meat.
The pasta got plated first, with the tomato clam sauce on top, and the octopi on top (yes, heads gutted, but intact), hitting the dish with final flourishes of fresh basil leaves and shredded Grana cheese.
I was duly impressed with myself; the flavors were rich, layered, yet simple with familiarity. Most important, I was able to achieve pretty good texture with the octopus; nowhere near the rubbery mess I've fought through in some of my very first octopus dishes, but maybe still a chew or two beyond the proper firmness. That was easily made up though by the lasting crisp and kicky heat of the seafood's charred edges, the sweet aromatic of the fresh basil, the nuanced earthy brininess of the squid ink pasta, and the acid of both the balsamic in the sauce and the lemon juice used in the grilling.
Octopus is not the most visually appealing seafood option, but only to the shallow. There's real beauty to be found from even the most unusual looking creatures from the deep. Or catching one by surprise at the local Fairway.
Bun Apple Tea!
.kac.
Grilled Baby Octopus over Squid Ink Fettucine with Clam Tomato Sauce and Fresh Basil
