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Slow-Braised Octopus Skewers with Lemon Aioli and Pimentón

You often see octopus in Northern Spain that is simply boiled for hours in salted water until completely tender. It is then chopped up, and served with a simple drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of sweet pimentón.
In this recipe, I’ve used the same simple cooking method (or you can buy braised octopus that is already cooked) and added the cooked octopus to toothpick skewers. Each skewer is topped with a small drop of lemon aioli and a sprinkle of pimentón.
Serves: 24 servings (scale as desired)

Ingredients

  • Zest of ½ lemon
  • ¼ cup prepared mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp fresh lemon juice (from a small slice of lemon)
  • 24 oz Octopus tentacles (left whole)
  • Kosher salt (to taste)
  • 24 toothpick skewers (slightly larger than toothpicks)
  • 1 Tbsp sweet pimentón (as garnish)
  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (as garnish)

Instructions 

  • In a small mixing bowl, combine the lemon zest, prepared mayonnaise, and fresh lemon juice.
  • Set aside in a small piping bag for later.
  • Braise the octopus tentacles in enough salted water to cover them completely.
  • Cook the tentacles until they are completely tender, or about 3.5 hours.
  • When the tentacles are cooked, cut them into bite-sized pieces and arrange one or two pieces of cooked octopus on each toothpick skewer.
  • Arrange the skewers on a serving platter, and drizzle lightly with a tiny drizzle of olive oil.
  • Top each skewer with a small dot of the lemon aioli from earlier, in addition to a tiny sprinkle of sweet pimentón on top.

Notes

You can prepare the components ahead of time and warm up the octopus right before assembling.