Charred octopus with chimichurri and romesco
At The Den on Sunset in West Hollywood, Calif., executive chef Ronnie De Leon prepares this earthy dish, starting by slowly simmering Spanish octopus in a court-bouillon. “Make sure that the water does not come to a boil, to avoid the outer flesh being mushy,” she said.
Separately, she cooks marble potatoes simply — starting with them in cold salted water that she brings to a simmer.
For the chimichurri she chops shallots, chiles, garlic, and salt and lets them marinate in lemon juice and vinegar before adding chopped cilantro, parsley, and oregano. She said marinating the aromatics “tames” them, “giving a more herby flavor to the sauce.”
For the romesco, she roasts almonds in a pot and then adds roasted peppers, chiles, and tomatoes, simmers them together and finishes the sauce with vinegar, horseradish, fenugreek and orange juice.
At service she deep-fries the potatoes to make them crispy, and seasons the octopus with pimento, garlic oil, and olive oil and grills it to give it a nice char. Then she slices it and tosses it and the potatoes in a bowl with the chimichurri.
She heats the romesco, plates it, puts the octopus and potatoes on top of that and finishes the dish with pickled red onions, fried baby kale and extra virgin olive oil and garnishes the dish with grilled lemons
Price: $24