Octopus with Orange Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 oranges (juiced)

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 chili pepper

• 5–7 whole black peppercorns

• 1 tsp onion powder

• 10–15 ml soy sauce

• 5–7 cloves

• 1 tsp crushed garlic

• 1 onion (roughly chopped)

• A handful of fresh parsley (to taste)

• 2 celery stalks (chopped)

• 1 tsp cold butter

• Octopus arms

Instruction:

1. Squeeze the juice from the oranges.

2. Pour the orange juice into a pot.

3. Add the bay leaf, chili pepper, black peppercorns, onion powder, soy sauce, cloves, and garlic.

4. Turn on the heat.

5. Chop the onion, parsley, and celery stalks. (The shape doesn't matter much, we're adding them just for flavor.)

6. Add the chopped onion, parsley, and celery stalks into the mixture in the pot.

7. Once it starts to boil, add the pre-cleaned octopus tentacles.

8. Close the lid and lower the heat.

9. I didn’t keep track of the time — I just checked by poking it with a fork to see if it was cooked. Once you think it’s tender enough, remove the octopus.

10. Don’t throw away the remaining liquid in the pot!

11. Strain it with a sieve and pour it into a pan.

12. Turn the heat on and let the sauce reduce.

13. As it boils, it will thicken and reduce in volume.

14. Turn off the heat and add the cold butter, then stir.

15. Once the butter melts, return the octopus tentacles to the pan.

16. Mix the octopus with the sauce.

17. The octopus is ready!

Note: I recommend serving it with pesto pasta. It’s a perfect match.

Enjoy ❤️