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Grilled Octopus Skewers with Pimenton over Creamy Mashed Potatoes

The octopus used in this recipe is first slowly braised in an aromatic fish fumet until it is fork-tender. Then the braised tentacles are cut up, dusted with hot & smoky pimenton, and placed on wooden skewers to be quickly grilled over high heat. The skewers are served over creamy, buttery mashed potatoes.
The mashed potatoes in this recipe are made using a French-inspired technique, with a high ratio of butter to potatoes. If you don’t have a food mill to break down your cooked potatoes, try simply mashing the potatoes and softened butter with a potato masher. It’s going to be great, even if your potatoes have a few lumps in them!

Ingredients

For the Grilled Octopus Skewers:

  • 8 wooden skewers (roughly 6” long, soaked in water for 2 hours)
  • 1 whole octopus
  • 6 cups fish fumet
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp pimenton picante, or hot pimenton (smoky pimenton)

For the Creamy Mashed Potatoes:

  • 4 russet potatoes (peeled & cut into uniformly-sized ¾” thick pieces)
  • 2 Tbsp salt
  • 12 Tbsp salted butter (1.5 sticks)
  • ¼ cup heavy cream (warmed on the stove)
  • Salt and freshly-ground black pepper (to taste)

Instructions 

For the Grilled Octopus Skewers:

  • Soak your wooden skewers by submerging them underwater for at least 2 hours prior to grilling.
  • Place whole octopus in a large stock pot with 6 cups of fish fumet and 2 Tbsp hot pimenton (smoky pimenton, or pimenton picante).
  • Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low.
  • While your octopus is simmering, you can prepare your creamy mashed potatoes (instructions below).
  • Preheat grill to 550F.
  • When the octopus is fully tender, remove from liquid and cut tentacles into slices roughly ½” thick.
  • Season the tentacle slices lightly with a sprinkle of salt and dust with hot pimenton.
  • Skewer the octopus tentacles onto the soaked wooden skewers and place on a plate for grilling.
  • Quickly grill the skewers on high heat until they take on a bit of color and remove from grill using tongs.

For the Creamy Mashed Potatoes:

  • Peel and cut the potatoes into large, uniform-sized ¾” chunks and rinse under cold water.
  • Put potatoes in a pot with cold water and add kosher salt.
  • Bring the potatoes to a simmer and reduce heat to medium.
  • Boil potatoes on medium heat for roughly 30 minutes, or until they are completely tender but not falling apart.
  • Drain potatoes and run them through a food mill.
  • Add 12 Tbsp softened butter
  • ¼ cup warm heavy cream and use a rubber spatula to gently incorporate the cream and butter until you have a smooth and buttery mashed potato puree.
  • Taste and season with more salt & pepper, if desired.
  • Serve this up hot, with a generous scoop of creamy mashed potatoes on each plate.
  • Top each mound of mashed potatoes with the grilled octopus skewers and enjoy.

Notes

The octopus can be braised a day or two in advance and stored in the fridge before you assemble your skewers and grill them.