Charred octopus with muhammara coulis
At the Washington, D.C., location of Ilili, a modern Lebanese restaurant that also has a location in New York City, executive chef Satinder Vij braises a 2-3 pound octopus in a pan with water, olive oil, salt, and bay leaves, cools it, strains it and then discards the head.
At service he grills the tentacles until slightly charred, tosses them with lemon juice, olive oil, and salt, and serves them over a thin version of the Middle Eastern paste muhammara by blending together roasted piquillo peppers, toasted walnuts, cumin, walnut oil, tahini, pomegranate molasses, Aleppo pepper, sugar, and water.
It’s accompanied by julienne fries seasoned with Aleppo pepper, salt, and lemon zest and garnished with parsley, mint, cilantro, and fennel leaves along with lemon juice and more Aleppo pepper.
Price: $29