Community Cookbook: Ten Hope’s Confit Octopus

Ten Hope (10 Hope St.) is a charming Williamsburg restaurant with a beautiful backyard and a Mediterranean-inspired menu.

Ten Hope’s Chef Travis McGinty makes a delicious octopus dish, served with rainbow potatoes, cured chorizo, and nigella aioli, and has shared the recipe with us for this week’s edition of our Community Cookbook.

See the recipe for Ten Hope’s Confit Octopus below and find last week’s Community Cookbook recipe here.

Ingredients

1 8-pound octopus

1 liter of canola oil

sprigs of thyme, oregano, and parsley

6 smashed cloves of garlic

2 pounds of rainbow potatoes 

3 tablespoons of salt

2 pounds of mild cured chorizo

1 chopped shallot

2 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons of nigella seeds or black caraway 

1 tablespoon of salt

1 cup of white distilled vinegar

1 cup of sour cream

2 cups of mayonnaise

Preparation Directions

Octopus 

1. Start by cutting the tentacles of the octopus, and place in a Dutch oven or deep metal pan. 
2. Cover with canola oil so that the tentacles are submerged in the oil. 
3. Add some fresh herbs of your choice. (Chef McGinty recommends thyme, oregano, parsley, and six smashed cloves of garlic.) 
4. Cook in oven on 325 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours. (If using a deep metal pan cover with foil lid.)
5. When cooking time is complete, carefully take out of oven and place on a wire rack and vent for 30 minutes. 
6. When steam has dissipated, place in the refrigerator. (The octopus will need to be kept in oil overnight to slowly cool and temper.) 

Rainbow Potatoes 

7. Rinse potatoes under cold water to clean. 
8. Cut potatoes in half and reserve in a water bath. 
9. Heat a pot of simmering water and season with salt (such as if you were making pasta). 
10. Once the water comes to a simmer, gently remove potatoes from the water bath and put into pot. 
11. Cook for 15 minutes or until potatoes are just fork tender. 
12. Drain from simmering water and reserve. 

Cured Chorizo 

13. Cut the mild cured chorizo into small bite-sized ‘half moons’ and reserve. 

Fresh Gooseberries 

14. Remove the gooseberries from the stem and wrapping. 
15. Place in a water bath and rinse to remove the waxy outer coating. 
16. Drain from water and dry. 
17. Once dry, cut in half and reserve. 

Nigella Aioli 

18. In a blender, combine: 1 chopped shallot, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 tablespoons of nigella seeds or black caraway, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 1 cup of white distilled vinegar. 
19. Blend on high speed until combined. 
20. Then add to blender: 1 cup sour cream, 2 cups mayonnaise and blend on medium to combine. 

Final Directions

21. Heat a cast iron pan to medium high heat. 
22. Add canola oil and place confit octopus in pan cooking until all sides have a sear. 
23. While searing octopus, have a stainless steel pan on medium heat. 
24. Add to stainless steel pan some canola oil, rainbow potatoes, and cut chorizo. 
25. Cook until oil has separated from chorizo and potatoes are golden brown. 
26. Once browned, add gooseberries and remove from heat. 
27. Grab a plating dish and add fun designs with the nigella aioli. (You can use smears, drips, dots, or blobs.) 
28. Sprinkle a few nigella seeds on plate. 
29. Add the potatoes, chorizo, and gooseberries mixture to the plate. 
30. When octopus has lightly charred, remove from heat. 
31. Remove octopus and place on top of potatoes. 
32. Garnish with extra herbs.