Octopus with potatoes

Prepare all the ingredients. Place the octopus in a large bowl, pour in some olive oil, add coarse salt, and massage the entire body well. The massage should take 20 to 40 minutes to ensure the octopus is tender. Rinse the octopus after the massage.

Peel the onion and carrot, then cut them into large pieces.

Heat vegetable oil in a pan, add allspice, bay leaves, carrot, and onion. Fry until golden for 3-4 minutes.

Boil water in a large pot, add salt (2–3 grams per 1 liter), and toss in the vegetables.

Take the octopus by the head, dip it in boiling broth for a few seconds, then lift it up and repeat several times. This is needed for the tentacles to curl beautifully.

Then fully submerge the octopus, lower the heat, and simmer for 2 hours with small bubbles.

While the octopus is cooking, prepare the side dish. Layer potatoes on several sheets of foil, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, add rosemary, and wrap it up. Place in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for 1 hour.

Water the pepper with olive oil, add a little salt, and put it in the oven for 20 minutes.

Place the peppers in a bag for 20 minutes, then peel them and remove the seeds.

Transfer the peppers to a small saucepan, add some salt and pepper, and 15 ml of olive oil. Place over medium heat and warm to evaporate excess moisture. It will take about 5 minutes.

Blend the peppers until pureed. Cover with foil to keep it warm.

Cut the cherry in half. Chop 2 cloves of garlic very finely. Roughly chop the basil.

Take the potatoes out of the oven and gently mash them with the flat bottom of a glass or jar.

Heat 30 grams of butter in a pan and fry the potatoes until golden brown on both sides. Add 2 whole, crushed garlic cloves.

Cut the prepared octopus into tentacles, place on a baking sheet, season with salt to taste, brush with softened butter, and bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 200 degrees. The head of the octopus can also be baked with the tentacles or frozen to add later to fish soup.

Heat vegetable oil in a pan, sauté chopped garlic for 15 seconds, add cherry tomatoes, capers, and olives. Simmer everything together over medium heat for 5-7 minutes.

Add 40 grams of butter and 100 ml of octopus broth. Mix until emulsified.

Place the potatoes on a large plate, filling the gaps with pepper puree and pesto sauce. Top with tentacles, adding chopped basil to the cherry and caper sauce, and drizzle this sauce over the octopus.

Serve immediately.