Octopus, potato, paprika and parsley

Freezing fresh octopus helps tenderise it and that’s what Harlequin Public House has done here. A traditional tapas favourite, the tentacles are boiled until tender and served on waxy potatoes slices, simply drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, paprika and parsley.

This recipe is one of the 12 finalists of Bite's Estrella Damm Tapas Competition in 2014. Click here to see all of the finalists.

Harlequin Public House, 32 Salisbury Street, Christchurch Central

Ingredients

1	Octopus, only 3 tentacles required. If frozen, it needs to be thawed and drained. (Main)
10	Waxy potatoes
1 to taste	Sea salt
1	Extra virgin olive oil
1	Smoked paprika
2 Tbsp	Flat leaf (Italian) parsley, chopped

Directions

1. To cook the octopus, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil.
2. Meanwhile, wash the octopus under cold running water. When the water is rapidly boiling, plunge the octopus in the water for 154 seconds then remove. Allow the water to boil again then repeat four moretimes, allowing the water to reach boiling point between each immersion. On the last immersion, leave the octopus in the pot and reduce the heat to barely a simmer.
3. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until tender. The outside pink layer should still be intact. Remove the octopus from the pot and set aside to cool.
4. Increase the heat to high and bring the cooking water to the boil. Add the potatoes and cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Remove from the pot and leave until cool enough to handle then peel.
5. Using a sharp knife slice the octopus tentacles into 1cm discs. Slice the potatoes into similar sized pieces. Arrange the potato on four to six small serving plates. Cover the potato with the octopus. Sprinkle with sea salt, olive, parsley and paprika and serve.