…& squid ink potato salad

Serves 4

Prep time 90 mins

Ingredients

For the potatoes

300g (12 pieces) new potatoes, peeled
2 tbsp. squid ink
½ltr fish stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2tbsp. olive oil

For the octopus

1 octopus
250 ml red wine
1 carrot chopped
½ onion, chopped
1 celery stick
1 star anise
Few peppercorns
Bay leaf
Sprig of thyme
Pink salt

For the grill

15 ml olive oil
15 ml sherry vinegar

Method

For the potatoes

Put the potatoes in a pan with enough fish stock to cover them and add the ink. Season, bring to the boil and simmer for 5-6 minutes until the potatoes are tender and the stock has reduced, now just coating the potatoes.
If the potatoes are cooked but you’re still left with a fair bit of stock, just remove the potatoes using a slotted spoon and again reduce the stock.
Once the stock is down to just a couple of tablespoons, return the potatoes. Add a tablespoon of the olive oil. Cover and keep warm.

For the octopus

Clean octopus and remove the head and beak, separate the tentacles. Place all the ingredients in a pot and cover with water. Bring to simmer and cook for 50-80 minutes or until just tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool in the cooking liquid. Once cooled, drain and refrigerate.

For the grill

When ready to serve heat a griddle, brush the octopus tentacles with olive oil and lightly char grill on each side, remove from the heat and toss in the remaining olive oil and sherry vinegar
Serve with fava beans, smoked cod roe puree, nduja olive oil and micro cress to decorate

*COOKS NOTE

Nduja is a spicy spreadable salami from Calabria made with a mix of pork, herbs and spices including a generous hit of Calabrian chilli peppers. To make the oil, just infuse excellent quality olive oil with a tablespoon of Nduja and use to spice up your summer dishes.