Nieves Barragán Mohacho’s octopus, mojo verde, baby potatoes and txistorra

By Nieves Barragán Mohacho.

Download recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 x double sucker Octopus (2-3kgs)
  • 500g baby potatoes, boiled and halved
  • 250g Txistorra
  • 1/2 onion
  • 1 x bay leaf
  • 3 x bunches of coriander
  • 1 x spring onion, diced
  • 3 x garlic cloves
  • 250ml Arbequina olive oil
  • 75ml vinegar
  • 1tbsp cayenne ground pepper
  • 1tbsp cumin seeds
  • 4 x shallots, roughly chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method

  1. To make the mojo verde adde the coriander, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, cayenne ground pepper, cumin seeds and salt and pepper into a blender and pulse until the mixture coarsely blends together. Set aside.

  2. Place the octopus, half an onion and the bay leaf in a large pot of boiling water. Turn the heat down to halfway and boil the octopus until it is tender. This generally takes about 20 minutes per kilo. Check if the octopus is cooked by sticking a toothpick through the tentacle. It should go through easily. Once cooked, separate the octopus legs from teh body by cutting at the join. Cut each leg lengthways. Pan fry the legs on a medium heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sat and pepper. The skin should darken slightly and almost caramelise.

  3. Pan fry the potatoes with 80ml of Arbequina olive oil, four roughly chopped shallots and salt and pepper until golden brown.

  4. Cut the Txistorra sausage into 4cm squares. Pan fry without oil until the skin looks golden and crispy.

  5. Spoon the mojo verde mixture onto a plate and spread evenly. On top, place a mixture of the octopus, potatoes and Txistorra. Drizzle with olive oil.