Braised Baby Octopus with Rocket and Pear Salad

Octopus:

1. Peel the garlic cloves and cut each in half lengthwise top to bottom.
2. Rinse the octopus and drain very well.
3. Pick the leaves of parsley and chop roughly.
4. Place a medium-large thick-based pot on medium-high heat and add olive oil until the base is covered liberally.
5. Cook the garlic until the edges just start to go brown, turn the heat right up, add the octopus, and cracked pepper and stir well. (Octopus can be salty when cooked so do not add any salt at this stage).
6. Once the octopus is heated through and is cooking away (about 2 minutes), add a good splash of white wine (the octopus should be half covered in liquid), reduce the heat to low, add a handful of parsley, stir and cover.
7. Stir the octopus every 20 minutes to ensure even cooking.

Salad:

1. Cut the sides of the pear off cutting around the core and then slice those lengthwise.
2. Place the slices of pear in a little lemon juice and olive oil.
3. Once the octopus is cooked, toss the pear slices with the roquette leaves and a little balsamic and extra virgin.

Serving:

1. After having cooked for about 1 hr, take out one octopus and taste for tenderness (should be very tender, it could need up to another half an hour depending on the octopus), also check for seasoning at this point.
2. Once the desired tenderness is reached, strain the octopus, saving the cooking broth.
3. Toss the octopus in a fresh bowl with some fresh parsley, lemon juice, a whisper of olive oil and a touch of the cooking broth.
4. Serve communally from the bowl, or plate up next to roquette and pear salad.
5. A bit of crusty French bread and a nice Sauvignon Blanc should be the only other things you need.