Because it is There

There exists, in certain corners of the world, a culture of eating exotic and strange animals simply for the sake of eating them. Most of these foods started out as necessity driven by poverty and can now be lumped into two categories: those that have been elevated to “delicacy” status (shark-fin soup) and those eaten out of tradition (fried tarantulas). Anthony Bourdain, in A Cook's Tour encounters more than a bit of this in his travels, most notably swallowing a still-beating cobra heart. It is a Mallory-esque attitude towards food; eat it “because it is there.”




While I have been known to ascribe to this particular mode of thinking – that I'll eat just about anything – I don't find myself rushing out to try, say, balut (half-fertilized duck eggs). I'm all for trying new things (when the revolution comes, I will be the last to starve, I assure you), but, in general, I want to eat things which have a chance of tasting good. I do not hold any such hope for deep fried spiders. Though, when eating a tarantula, I guess no one has to fight over the drumsticks.

Speaking of eight legs...

Eating for the sake of doing so is not the case with baby octopus, though I was accused of just that when I served up a grilled octopus salad at the bistro recently. “NO one could possibly enjoy eating that,” said my new waitress. “Look at those little... tentacles.”

The tentacles, in fact, are the best part of eating baby octopus, especially when they are char-grilled. The tips of each tentacle becomes blackened and crisp. There are so many ways to cook octopus. You can braise it in wine slowly to soften it, flash fry it, pickle it. It is a wonderfully versatile menu item. I like to marinate it in a flaming-hot marinade, char-grill it, and then serve it with a refreshing salad.



I also like having octopus on the menu because of the smile it brings me during service. I love to call out: “Order in... OCTO-SALAD!” Sounds so crazy and futuristic somehow.



Char-Grilled Baby Octopus and Niçoise salad.

“Niçoise salad” is used loosely here. Traditionally it has a strict list of ingredients; we're going to toss a few of them together and call it good.

10 baby octopus, cleaned (ask your fishmonger)

Marinade

2 birdseye chilies
4 cloves garlic, peeled
roots of one bunch coriander
small knob ginger, peeled

Chop all the ingredients roughly. Combine in a mortar and pestal with a generous pinch of salt and a few tablespoons of oil. Pound until a paste forms. Alternately you could pulse in a food processor, but the results wont be quite as good.

Marinate the occy overnight in the paste.

The next day, heat your grill or BBQ and cook the octopus on high heat for 5-10 minutes (depending on the size of your occy), or until the tips of the tentacles char and the bodies are cooked. Remove from the heat and rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

Niçoise Salad

Toss together any amount of any of the items below with a handful of parsley or lettuce and you are away. Do you really need me to tell you how to make a salad?

boiled baby potatoes
green beans
tomatoes
olives
anchovies
soft-boiled eggs
croûtons

Dress your very personalized salad with a vinaigrette:

2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 heaped tsp dijon mustard
100 ml vegetable oil

Mix and season to taste.