PAGE 145 SMOKY OCTOPUS WITH CHICKPEAS AND ARTICHOKES

Ha!  I felt doubt.  After rocking with Mike for almost a month I didn't feel good about this recipe.  I like artichokes, but am ambivalent about chickpeas and well...octopus.  I have to look up octopus to verify the spelling.  However, my oldest son did well on his math test and I'm heading to Nanty Glo. PA tomorrow to cook with my mom,, so I felt brave.  Plus, I had gone to the much storied Italian Store in Arlington, VA and procured octopus.  I wanted to like the Italian Store more than I did.  It was crowded and small and I couldn't figure out where anything was.  I did find some saba (in addition to the octopus) which I need for some other recipes.

I should have had more faith.  I actually liked this a lot more than I anticipated.  The kids ate it also, not with mad enthusiasm, but ate it.

First, I braised the octopus in a 325 oven with red wine vinegar, peppercorns and a bay leaf.  I cleaned the artichokes and put them in lemon water.  I sliced the artichokes and added lemon juice, olive oil and salt.  (I think you could use jarred artichokes with no degradation in quality.)  I removed the octopus and grilled it indoors.  That was kind of a mess and smoky and stinky.  No one at chez Anderson was impressed with me, but we have to suffer for great art.  (For the record, I am viewed in my house as charmingly eccentric, not flat out weird.)  I through the stuff for chickpea puree in the food processer, can o' chickpeas, lemon juice, olive oil, coriander salt and water and pushed the button.  (For some reason, possibly lessons learned from pork belly and beans, I made twice as much chickpea puree as the recipe called for.  Don't.  You'll have plenty with a single recipe. (It kinda tastes like hummus.)  I plated it with chickpea puree, octopus and artichokes.  It was pretty good.  I probably won't make it again and had waay too much chickpea puree, but it wasn't a bad experience.

Josh displaying his plate.

Josh looking all cute.

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