Ingredients
- 5lb Octopus
- 1 bottle of Burgundy wine – Pinot Noir
- Shallots – Fine dice 2 and you will also add around 8 whole shallots to the bourguignon.
- 1 bulb of Garlic
- One onion
- Handful of Pancetta
- 1 pack of Butter
- 1 pint of Beef Stock
- 1 cup of double/heavy Cream
- Polenta
- Parmesan
- Wild Garlic
- Butternut Squash
- Fennel
- 12 medium sized new potatoes
- 8 Chantenay Carrots
- 1 glass of Port
- 1 cup of parmesan cheese
- Chives
Drop the octopus into a large pan of boiling water, cover with a lid and boil for around 10 minutes.
In a deep pan sweat the diced shallots in a slice of butter – keep the heat low, you are looking to sweat them, not colour them. Use a silicone Maryse to ensure no shallots stick to the edges. Peel a whole bulb of garlic and add to the shallots.
Pour the bottle of Pinot Noir into the shallot and garlic base and cook for around 10 minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate and the garlic to infuse.
Remove the octopus from the heat and place under a gently running cold tap for around 6 or 7 minutes to stop the cooking process and to remove any impurities that have come out of the octopus.
Add some butter to a deep frying pan. Dice and onion into even sized chunks. Slice a bulb of fennel into similar sized chunks to the onion. Add a good handful of pancetta to the pan and allow to cook for a few minutes before you add the vegetables. Dice a butternut squash into chunks. As the pancetta starts to render you can add the onion and fennel, sweat this for around 5 minutes.
Peel 8 – 10 shallots and add to the pan. Peel and trim around 8 Chantenay carrots and add to the pan.
Remove the tentacles from the octopus and add to the pan in large chunks and sauteed for around ten minutes with the vegetables. Prepare a bouquet garni with Parsley, oregano and fresh thyme and nestle into the pan before pouring in the wine and a pint of good beef stock and bring up to a simmer for around one hour.
Prepare some tourney potatoes by peeling medium sized new potatoes.
Take a glass of port and reduce over a 20-minute period into a dark syrup.
To add an extra depth of flavour, check the octopus after around 45 minutes, and if cooked through remove from the pan into a tray. Pat dry and then drizzle with oil before smoking on the Traeger for around 5 minutes. You don’t have to do this, but it will really add flavour.
Remove the bouquet garni and dispose of. Scoop out the carrots and place into a tray. Sieve the remaining mixture into a bowl. Remove some shallots and whole cloves of garlic and drop into the pan with the carrots. Push the rest of the mix through the sieve and return the juice to your pan. Pour In your reduced port and add your tourney potatoes and cubes squash. Simmer and reduce the liquid down whilst the vegetables are cooking. When the squash is cooked, add in the precooked carrots and cover with foil for around 6 minutes to allow the potatoes to finish.
Prepare a pan of boiling salted water and whilst whisking the water pour in your instant polenta, this will cook into around 6 minutes. Whilst the polenta is cooking pour in a cup of double/heavy cream. As the polenta thickens stop whisking a use a Maryse to move the polenta around the pan. Add around 2oz of butter and stir through you are looking for a wet mash mix. Grate in a cup of parmesan and stir through. Chop some flat leaf parsley with wild garlic. Season the polenta with salt and pepper and stir through the herbs.
When the potatoes are cooked through add the octopus back to the pan.
You are then ready serve with a spoon of polenta, Octopus, potatoes and carrots covered with the bourguignon sauce and garnished with chopped chives and a grating of parmesan over the top.