Octopus Salad with Roasted Shallot Dressing

Cook Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

2kg octopus legs, boiled then grilled

2 pieces of celery

3-4 whole peppercorn

½ white onion, chopped

Bouquet garni (mixture of fresh parsley, thyme and bay leaves)

Salad

Green papya, julienned

2 spring onions, julienned

1 large red chilli, seeded and julienned

½ cup coriander leaves

¼ cup mint leaves

2 tbsp roasted peanuts, crushed, reserved some for garnish

Crispy fried shallots, reserved some for garnish

Roasted rice powder (roast rice in oven at 150°C for 45 min and then blitz), reserved some for garnish

Roasted Shallot and Chilli Dressing

10 dry roasted shallot (done in a wok with no oil or roast in oven)

8 long dried red chillies, shallow fried until crispy

½ cup caster sugar

1 cup lime juice

50ml fish sauce, to taste

Method

In a pot full of water, add the onion, celery, peppercorns and bouquet garni and bring to a simmer, then poach the octopus for 1½ hours or until tender. 

To make the salad, toss all the ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a blender and mix together. The dressing should be sour and sweet. Add most of the dressing to the salad, toss and combine. Reserve 2-3 tablespoons for serving.

Cut the poached octopus into pieces and fry on a grillpan or bbq with a little olive oil until charred.

Add some of the reserved dressing directly to the plate, the charred octopus on top, then a handful of dressed salad, peanuts, crispy shallots and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.