Photo: Chris Court
“When I first started using South Australian octopus I had to fly down and meet the fishermen because they wouldn’t give me any,” says Simon Gloftis, owner of Brisbane restaurant Hellenika. “It took me four or five months to convince them to do it. It’s the best octopus out there!” says Gloftis. Begin this recipe a day ahead.
Ingredients
Method
1.To prepare octopus, cut tentacles into individual lengths. Place on a wire rack over an oven tray and leave to dry out in fridge for 24 hours.
2.Preheat oven to 220ËšC. Grease and line 2 large oven trays with baking paper. To cook octopus, place on prepared tray with 2-3cm space between each tentacle and roast until reddish in colour and moderately firm to touch (10 minutes). Remove from oven, return to wire rack, and stand in fridge until cooled completely and drained from any cooking juices.
3.To make dressing, place lemon juice, oregano and oil in a bowl, season to taste and whisk to combine.
4.Preheat a lightly greased barbecue or char-grill pan to high. Char-grill tentacles until all juices and liquid have evaporated and tentacles are charred (6-8 minutes). Roughly cut into pieces. Place in a bowl with half the dressing, season to taste and toss to combine. Transfer to a plate drizzle over remaining dressing, scatter with micro parsley and serve with charred sourdough and lemon cheeks.
Ask your fishmonger to clean and tenderise the octopus.
Notes
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