Grilled Octopus over flageolet and fava beans
At Figlia, a recently opened restaurant in the Queens neighborhood of Astoria, N.Y., owner Riccardo Darhda and chef de cuisine Ariel Villegas developed this dish, for which Spanish octopus is poached for around two hours with white wine, shallots, thyme, and olive oil. It’s cooled, portioned and refrigerated.
Separately he cooks flageolet beans with Spanish onions and garlic until they’re al dente and then mixes them with boiled fava beans.
At service the octopus is brushed with olive oil and cooked on a hot charcoal grill for a minute or two until each side is charred. Then it’s cut into three pieces, seasoned with Aleppo pepper flavored salt and lemon olive oil and served over the beans which have been tossed with minced shallots, lemon olive oil, oregano, salt, and ground pepperoncino peppers. The dish is finished with coarsely ground Tellicherry or Zanzibar black pepper.
Price: $22