American · Dinner
California Grilled Octopus Plate
California Bay Area tradition reading tender octopus tentacles slow-braised then grilled hard for crisp charred edges, plated over warm cannellini bean salad with charred lemon, fresh oregano, and a smoked paprika oil for the West Coast weekend Mediterranean-inflected plate.
$$
15 minsPrep
65 minsCook
80 minsTotal
HardLevel
Nutrition per serving
69Calories
13gProtein
1gFat
2gCarbs
0gSugar
0gFiber
196mgSodium
41mgChol
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Instructions
1
Prep
Pat octopus tentacles dry. Smash 8 garlic cloves, mince 4 others. Halve 2 lemons and zest 1. Pick and finely chop oregano and parsley. Finely chop red onion and dice tomato. Whisk 4 tbsp olive oil with smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, and 0.5 tsp fine sea salt for paprika oil.
2
Simmer
Bring 480ml water to boil in a heavy saucepan over high heat. Add smashed garlic, bay leaves, lemon zest, half the oregano, and 1 tsp fine sea salt. Lower octopus tentacles in one at a time, dipping each 3 times. Drop heat to low, cover, simmer gently 45–50 minutes until a knife pierces the thickest part with light resistance.
3
Build
Toss cannellini beans with red onion, tomato, red wine vinegar, half the parsley, remaining oregano, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp octopus cooking liquid, and 0.5 tsp black pepper until combined.
4
Rest
Lift octopus to a board and cool 5 minutes. Pat tentacles dry thoroughly.
5
Grill
Heat a grill pan over high 5 minutes. Brush octopus with 2 tbsp olive oil, lay tentacles undisturbed 3 minutes per side until deep mahogany with crisp char on the suckers. Brush lemon halves with remaining oil, grill 2 minutes cut-side down until blackened.
6
Plate
Mound bean salad on plates, lay grilled octopus tentacles over the beans (slice into 3cm pieces if very long), drizzle paprika oil generously across, set charred lemon on the rim, scatter remaining parsley, finish with flaky salt.
Recipes use AI and Edamam. Always check for allergens before cooking. Spotted something wrong—email us at hello@grubplanit.com.
Serves
2 portions ·
2 adults, 0 over 10, 0 under 10
Ingredients
- 560g (19.8 oz) cleaned octopus tentacles
- 300g (10.6 oz / 2 cans) canned cannellini beans
- 4 medium lemons
- 20g (small handful) fresh oregano
- 20g (small handful) flat-leaf parsley
- 12 garlic cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 480ml (2 cups) water
- 120ml (1/2 cup) extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 60g (2.1 oz) red onion
- 120g (4.2 oz) ripe tomato
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 0.5 tsp flaky sea salt