Confit octopus and mace
This gentle, slow confit results in tender, flavourful octopus, scented with sweet, woodsy mace.
YIELDS
4
TO
6
Ingredients
Braised Octopus
- 3 cups (710 ml) olive oil
- 3 small onions, finely diced
- 6 small red chili peppers, sliced
- 1 cup (240 ml) Italian parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) ground mace
- Salt and pepper
- 3 pounds (1.4 kg) octopus tentacles
Assemble
- 2 small red chili peppers, to finish oil
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped parsley, to finish oil, plus more to garnish
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
Directions
Braised Octopus
- In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, combine the olive oil, onion, chilli peppers, and parsley. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Stir the oil to evenly distribute all seasonings.
- Add octopus tentacles to the pot, ensuring they are submerged in the oil and aromatics.
- Turn heat on to medium-low. When steam starts escaping from the octopus, roughly six to eight minutes, cover the pot with a lid.
- Cook covered for two hours.
- Once cooked, remove the lid and let the octopus rest undisturbed in the oil for 15 minutes.
- Carefully transfer the octopus tentacles to a tray. Reserve the cooking oil with all the aromatics.
Assemble
- Preheat grill to medium-high.
- Grill until nicely charred, two to three minutes per side.
- Transfer the grilled tentacles to a serving tray.
- Stir the remaining chillies and chopped parsley into the reserved oil.
- Drizzle oil over the octopus generously.
- Squeeze the lemon juice over the octopus and garnish with chopped parsley.
- Serve immediately. Enjoy!
