Octopus pasta

Fill a large pot 3/4 with water and bring to boil, then maintain a medium heat as to simmer the octopus. Add the bay leaf, 3 chunks of lemon and the red wine (the tannin from the wine can help tenderise the meat.)

The octopus cannot simply be added to boiling water; it needs to be tempered and gradually get to the same temperature as the water. Otherwise it will be rubbery. Dip the whole octopus into the simmering water and hold until the count of 3 then take out. Repeat this about 3 times, the tentacles will start to curl up. Then after the 3rd time leave it in the water; it should be completely covered in water. Place lid on pot and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let this stand for another 5 minutes in the pot.

Remove from pot and let it rest on a plate, so that when slicing into pieces later it is not too juicy/saucy. Then slice, starting with the tentacles into bite size pieces, it should be soft but still a chewy texture. Slice the head section into strips and use later.

Mix together some soy sauce, the chili, lemon, olive oil, garlic and honey. Place the octopus pieces in the mix and let it marinate while preparing the noodles.

In a large bowl, mix the remainder of the soy sauce, the lemon juice and garlic. Mix the cooked noodles into the mix, let this cool for a couple of minutes. It gives the noodles a type of a Japanese noodle taste.

When plating, dish the noodles first, then the tomatoes, cucumber, spring onion and stack the octopus pieces on top. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon and season with salt and pepper.

Recipe reprinted with permission of Bouffilicious. To see more recipes, please click here.