Craving octopus and potatoes? Then I propose a rather scenic variant that’s easy to make. A preparation that doesn’t require much time and can even be quite fun. A fish main course that will guarantee you and your guests a lot of satisfaction.

The ingredients needed are not many; you’ll obviously need an octopus, some potatoes, and a couple of seasonings. The procedure involves boiling the potatoes, which you’ll then mash to shape into a cake, and similarly boiling the octopus to then sear it in the pan.

The most important part is the plating, as described in this recipe, to achieve a truly impressive presentation combined with a final taste that’s not bad at all!

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Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Medium
Preparation time: 3 Hours
Portions: 2
Cooking methods: Boiling
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients

For the Octopus on Potato Cake

1 500 g octopus
1.1 lbs potatoes
to taste salt
to taste chopped parsley
to taste extra virgin olive oil
to taste sweet paprika
to taste pepper

Tools

Pastry Ring
Potato Masher
Pan

Steps

To make the Octopus on Potato Cake

First, wash the potatoes and peel them. Then cut them into rough and irregular pieces and place them inside a steamer or pot filled with water.
Continue by cooking the potatoes in a steamer for 50 minutes or in a pot by boiling them in water for about 35 minutes or until they are soft.
As soon as the potatoes are cooked, mash them with a potato masher or a food mill, reducing them to a purée. Then add salt, parsley, and let cool for about 2 hours.
At this point, cook the octopus in boiling salted water for 40 minutes, ensuring to cover the pot with the lid for the entire time, setting the flame to medium intensity.
After 40 minutes, turn off the flame and let the octopus rest in its cooking water for another 10 minutes without removing the lid. After the resting time, take the octopus out of the water, use a knife to separate the head, and finally cut the tentacles one by one.
Then place all the pieces of the octopus in a bowl, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and add a generous amount of sweet paprika. Mix everything and prepare for the next step.
To finish, heat a non-stick pan over medium-high flame and sear the octopus tentacles for a few minutes on both sides.
Finally, form the potato cake on a plate using the pastry ring, then fill the ring with the purée and compact it with a spoon before removing the pastry ring.
To finish, lay the seared tentacles on the cake and garnish with raw oil, pepper, and a generous sprinkling of fresh parsley before serving.