Articles of Mastication

Citrus Baby Octopus Salad

You should have known that it was only a matter of short time before I cooked a sea creature with tentacles. If you can find me a land creature with tentacles, I’ll be happy to come up with something for you.

Tentacly speaking, you may know how difficult it is to find octopus readily available in the midwestern United States. I’m fortunate to have Seafood City Super Market here in St. Louis, where you can walk in on any given day and find not only Asian groceries, produce and cookware, but also a dazzling array of live, fresh and frozen fish, seafood and amphibians on offer. I was looking for a fresh, fully grown octopus, but had to settle for a pound of babies.

Uh, baby octopi, that is.

The Citrus Baby Octopus Salad I conjured was a squarely uncomplicated foray, but if you would like to attempt it yourself, it will take at least 24 hours. I don’t like to give standard-format recipes here because I don’t believe they bolster your culinary pluck; if you truly desire to internalize cooking knowledge and skill, to be absolutely exceptional in the kitchen (or in music, or art… just about any endeavor that resonates with our emotions and passions, really) you need to allow your instincts to roam beyond the perimeter of exact measurements and times. Feel your food. Attempt to understand what a dish is supposed to accomplish in your mouth by looking at it and knowing the ingredients. In this case, the salad contains:

Cleaned baby octopi, heads removed and softly simmered for 45 minutes. They’re then rinsed, chilled and marinated for two days (no less than 12 hours!) in beet juice.

Julienned roasted red peppers

Supremed lemon and grapefruit

Lemon and grapefruit zest

Chopped parsley

White onion

Grated Grana Padano cheese

Shredded Romain lettuce

A vinaigrette of lemon and grapefruit juice, olive oil, herbs, salt and cracked pepper

After considering the ingredients listed, look at another shot of the same salad and imagine the dance of aromas, tastes and textures in as vivid detail as you’re able (considering the second-rate contrast and color balance in these particular photos).

Spend some time with it. What would it taste like if I used such-and-such a proportion of lemon to grapefruit juice in the vinaigrette? Red onion rather than white?

Now, based on what you imagined this salad to taste like, make it yourself. Approximate it to the best of your ability by preparing the elements separately, then assembling them. If you can’t find baby octopus, use squid or sliced adult octopus. I will tell you that small, cleaned squid tubes and tentacles should be cooked in briskly boiling salted water for about a minute and a half, then immersed in an ice bath and drained before marinating. A whole adult octopus should be simmered for around an hour before slicing and marinating. If you’re completely unfamiliar with octopus and need more detailed instructions for cooking, refer to this recipe for a simple, traditional Dalmatinska Salata od Hobotnice from The Best of Croatian Cooking (I’ve linked to it in a previous post, yes). I adore octopus salad nearly as much as I adore the butterflies and bluebirds that flit about my head and follow me wherever I go. It’s a dish that’s ever so conducive to re-imagining and experimentation.

I’d love to hear about the results of your experimentation.

“Do not fear mistakes. There are none.” – Miles Davis