Glazed octopus with green tea tempura, root and sea vegetables and Jerusalem artichoke cream
Item 1 of 1
- medium
- 4
- 2 hours 20 minutes
Like all seafood, finding the right balance between over and underdone when cooking octopus can be a challenge, but Francesco Apreda ensures his is perfectly tender by poaching the tentacles in a water bath before finishing them off in a frying pan to produce a gloriously golden crust. The chef completes this seafood starter by coating the octopus in a sticky miso and lime glaze, with crispy matcha tempura batter, colourful vegetable slices and a smooth Jerusalem artichoke cream adding the final colourful touches.
First published in 2016
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Glazed octopus
- 500g of octopus, tentacles only, cleaned and prepared by the fishmonger
- 75g of glucose
- 12g of red miso
- 6g of soy sauce
- 10ml of mirin
- 10ml of rice vinegar
- 30ml of lime juice
- peanut oil, for frying
Green tea tempura
- 5g of matcha
- 50g of cornflour
- 50g of plain flour
- 30g of basil
- 55ml of sparkling water
- 55ml of white wine
- sunflower oil, for deep-frying
Jerusalem artichoke cream
- 250g of Jerusalem artichoke, peeled and finely chopped
- 250ml of milk
- 250ml of water
- 40g of sushi rice
- 5ml of rice vinegar
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pinch of salt
Root vegetable slices
- 200g of carrots, assorted colours, finely sliced on a mandoline
- 100g of purple potatoes, finely sliced on a mandoline
- 50g of turnip, finely sliced on a mandoline
- 1 dash of olive oil
- 1 pinch of salt
Sea vegetables
- 1 handful of sea lettuce
- 1 handful of monk's beard
To serve
- nori seaweed, powdered, to garnish
SAVE RECIPE
Equipment
- Vacuum bags 2
- Bar sealer
- Water bath
- Food processor
- Piping bags
- Blender
- Mandoline
- Deep-fryer
- Thermometer
Method
1
Before cooking, place the octopus tentacles in a sealed bag and freeze for 12 hours to help tenderise the meat
- 500g of octopus, tentacles only, cleaned and prepared by the fishmonger
2
After this time, preheat a water bath to 95°C
3
Transfer the octopus to a vacuum bag and seal while still frozen, then cook in the bath for 1 hour and 20 minutes
4
Once cooked, remove the octopus from the bag and carefully drain any cooking juices into a jug. Reserve the juices for the glaze, placing the cooked octopus in the fridge to chill until cool (this will make the octopus easier to slice)
5
While the octopus is chilling, make the glaze. Measure out 400ml of the cooking liquid from the octopus, topping up with water if not enough, and add to a pan with the glucose and red miso. Place over a medium heat and cook for 5–10 minutes, or until reduced by half
- 75g of glucose
- 12g of red miso
6
Meanwhile, place all the ingredients for the tempura into a food processor and blend to form a smooth batter. Transfer to a piping bag and reserve in the fridge until required
- 5g of matcha
- 50g of cornflour
- 50g of plain flour
- 30g of basil
- 55ml of sparkling water
- 55ml of white wine
7
Add the soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar and lime juice to the glucose mixture and continue to cook gently until it reduces down to a sticky, syrupy glaze then set aside
- 6g of soy sauce
- 10ml of mirin
- 10ml of rice vinegar
- 30ml of lime juice
8
To make the artichoke cream, combine all the ingredients in a pan and place over a medium heat. Cook for 5–10 minutes until the artichokes and rice are completely soft
- 250g of Jerusalem artichoke, peeled and finely chopped
- 250ml of milk
- 250ml of water
- 40g of sushi rice
- 5ml of rice vinegar
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pinch of salt
9
Remove the bay leaf and strain the mixture, reserving the cooking liquid. Add the cooked artichokes and rice to a blender with some of the liquid blitz together, adding as much of the cooking liquid as needed to create a smooth, thick cream. Season to taste and set aside until ready to serve
10
Before serving, preheat a water bath to 95°C and preheat a deep-fryer with sunflower oil to 180°C
- sunflower oil, for deep-frying
11
Place the root vegetable slices in a vacuum bag with a little olive oil and salt. Seal and cook in the water bath for 4 minutes
- 200g of carrots, assorted colours, finely sliced on a mandoline
- 100g of purple potatoes, finely sliced on a mandoline
- 50g of turnip, finely sliced on a mandoline
- 1 dash of olive oil
- 1 pinch of salt
12
Remove the piping bag of tempura batter from the fridge and snip a very small hole in the tip. Pipe squiggles of the batter into the hot oil and cook for a few seconds until crisp and light golden in colour. Drain any excess oil on kitchen paper and repeat until all the batter is used up
13
While the oil is still hot, fry the sea lettuce for a few seconds to crisp up and leave to drain on kitchen paper
- 1 handful of sea lettuce
14
Remove the cold octopus from the fridge and cut into smaller portions, each weighing about 30g. Heat a good dash of peanut oil in a deep frying pan and sauté the octopus pieces until golden brown
- peanut oil, for frying
15
Transfer the octopus from the frying pan into the pan with the glaze and warm through, stirring to ensure the octopus pieces are fully coated
16
Bring a small pan of water to the boil and blanch the monk's beard for 30 seconds to soften. Drain and set aside
- 1 handful of monk's beard
17
To serve, swipe a spoonful of the artichoke cream across each serving plate, using a scraper or pointed implement to create a lined effect. Surround the cream with pieces of the glazed octopus, the root vegetable slices, fried tempura and sea lettuce, and a few mounds of the monk's beard. Garnish with a pinch of nori powder
- nori seaweed, powdered, to garnish
First published in 2016
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