Ingredients
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1 Octopus, about 1.2 kg, from one of the Blue Island Fish Markets
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4-5 Black Peppercorns
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2 bay leaves
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30 ml red vinegar
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20 ml lemon juice
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1 teaspoon dried oregano, grated
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Salt
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Freshly ground pepper
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For the sauce:
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300 ml orange juice
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30 ml olive oil
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1/3 cup green olives (stones removed and finely chopped)
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For serving:
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1 large celery root, peeled and thickly grated
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Spinach leaves
Instructions
Purchase the cleaned Octopus from one of the Blue Island Fish Markets.
Wash and drain on kitchen paper.
To make the sauce: Pour the orange juice into a saucepan and boil on a high heat for about 15 minutes, until about half of it is left. Put the still hot juice in a blender. Add half of the olive oil, beat and then slowly add the rest until you have a smooth sauce. This can also be done with a hand mixer, adding the olive oil at regular intervals. When ready, transfer to a medium size bowl, add the chopped olives, stir and put to one side.
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Put the whole octopus in a medium size oven tray or ovenproof dish with a lid. Lay out the peppercorns and bay leaves in the dish. It is not necessary to add any liquid, because the octopus has its own liquid. Cover the dish with the lid or with baking paper and aluminium foil and place it on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes (if two smaller octopuses are used, bake them for 1 hour and 10 minutes). Remove the dish from the oven and put to one side. When the octopus is cool enough to touch, separate the tentacles from the hood and cut them all into 2 cm pieces. Place in a large bowl, drizzle with the vinegar and lemon juice, add the oregano, season with salt and pepper, stir and set aside again for 10 minutes.
Save the marinade from the baked octopus.
Finally, put the spinach and the grated celery root into a large salad bowl and pour the octopus marinade over them. Add the octopus and stir in the rest of the ingredients.
Drizzle with the orange sauce and serve.
Bon appétit!
