This Dame Cooks A Collection of Recipes from Alaska to the South Pacific and Caribbean

In 1979 I attended an IBM Systems Operator Certification program in Tempe, AZ.   At that time reel-to-reel magnetic tape was still being used in systems and cobal was the programming language of choice.  My most memorable experience, besides graduation ceremonies and floating the Mesa River in inner-tubes, was a romantic dinner at an Italian restaurant in Phoenix.  The restaurant was elegant with white linens and silver cutlery, the service was attentive, and the starter dish, Octopus salad, was to die for.  From the first bite, I was in love.  It was not rubbery, nor fishy tasting, but lemony and salty with capers, creamy with olive oil and crunchy with celery.  

I moved to Alaska shortly thereafter, where octopus is fresh caught, blanched to a coral color, and the tenacles are as big as tennis racket handles.   In fact, whole octopi are so large in the Aleutian Islands that one tenacle was enough for 6 servings of this starter dish. 

If you buy a raw tenacle of octopus I highly recommend freezing it for a day or two.  Freezing will tenderize it a bit so that you need only blanch it in boiling salted water just until the skin turns red.  If you overcook it at this stage you’ll need to continue cooking it until it is fork tender, about 45 minutes or longer.  If the octopus is already blanched, strip the skin off the tenacles with a boning knife and slice off the suction cups.   Dice the prepared tenacles and marinate in a traditional Mediterranean medley of lemon juice, olive oil and garlic.  

Ingredients: 

• 2 lb octopus, blanched, cleaned, diced the size of fresh peas
• 4 lemons, 3 juiced and 1 cut into wedges for garnish
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 shallot, chopped finely
• 2 Tbsp capers
• 2 Tbsp red pimento, diced (or 1 small Roma tomato, skinned, seeded and diced)
• black ripe olives to taste
• 2 ribs of celery, diced
• handful of parsley, chopped finely, reserve 1/4 cup for garnish
• 3-4 dashes Tabasco sauce
• sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1 bunch romaine lettuce, chopped coarsely

Method:

1. Mix octopus, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and shallot  in a glass bowl.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
2. Fold-in remaining ingredients except lettuce and garnishes.
3. Place a mound of lettuce on each of 6 cold serving plates, top with 1/2 cup of marinated octopus.
4. Garnish with parsley and lemon wedges.
5. Serve with crackers or toasted crostini.

Notes:

1. If you prefer, leave the skin on the octopus and cook it until fork tender.   Saute chopped onion, garlic, minced chile of choice, add octopus pieces (about 1 inch cubed) and simmer in coconut cream with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with crusty bread, pasta or starchy vegetable such as potatoes, green plantains or yam.   In Polynesia, where the octopi have very skinny tenacles, the raw ingredients of this version are used to fill a pouch made of taro leaves.  The pouch is then wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in an umu (underground oven).  Very tasty!!
2. If you buy a whole octopus for this dish, whole baby pulpos from Mexico, or whole  larger varieties from your fish monger, be sure to include some of the tips of the tenacles for extra crunch, remove the beeks and take extra care cleaning the heads.  The ink from the heads can be harvested to color fresh pasta dough.   Your fish monger will remove the head if you’ve no desire to fool with that bit of the beast.