Octopus borscht style

3/3/25, 8:00 AM

Ukrainian chef Maksym Zorin has opened his datcha (country house) in Paris in the spirit of a chic, convivial family home. Ukrainian and Ducassian gastronomy inspire his dishes, such as this octopus borscht.

This recipe by Maksym Zorin, chef at La Datcha restaurant in Paris11e , is taken from the special issue of Gault&Millau magazine, in which you can discover 109 chefs' recipes. These chefs have opened their own establishments over the past 18 months, and have shared their favorite recipes with us. Discover the ingredients and preparation steps to make it easy.

Serves 6

Preparationtime: 55 min

Cooking time: 10 h 15

Ingredients for Maksym Zorin 's octopus borscht

For the octopus

1 whole octopus, 2-3 kilos

1 white onion

1 carrot

1 leek

1 shallot

½ clove garlic

Thym e

Black peppercorns

Frying oil

For the buckwheat risotto

250 g buckwheat

1 white onion

5 cl white wine

1 l vegetable stock

Oi l

For the vegetables

6 orange baby carrots

6 yellow baby carrots

6 baby beets

For the beethummus

4 raw beets

100 g cooked chickpeas , drained

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp. cumin

1 tbsp. sherry vinegar

Coarse salt

For the beet juice

3 raw beets

200 g butter

1 tbsp. old wine vinegar

Salt and white pepper

For the red cabbage pickles

¼ cup red cabbage

1 tbsp. Orleans vinegar

2 tbsp. sesame oil

Salt and pepper

Specific equipment

Juice extractor

Steps for Maksym Zorin 's octopus borscht

Octopus:

- Cook the octopus in simmering water for 7 h with the aromatic garnish (onion, carrot, leek, shallot, thyme, garlic and pepper).

- Remove the octopus from the water, cut into pieces and leave to cool.

- At the last minute, fry for 30 seconds in oil at 180°C.

Buckwheat risotto: In a frying pan, sweat the onion in the oil without browning. Add the buckwheat and deglaze with white wine. Season to taste and moisten with vegetable stock. Repeat 3 times until all the stock has evaporated , to ensure perfect cooking.

Vegetables: Cook baby carrots andbaby beet(with their tops)separately in boiling water until they are both crisp and melting, thenplunge them immediately into iced water to stop the cooking process.

Beet hummus: Bake the beets at 160°C for 3 h on a bed of coarse salt. Leave to cool, then peel and blend with chickpeas, garlic, vinegar and a little cumin.

Beet juice: Juice the raw beet. Add butter and reduce until smooth. Add old wine vinegar and finish seasoning with salt and white pepper.

Red cabbage pickles: Cutthe red cabbage with a cookie cutter.Season with sesame oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.

Presentation: Place 1 mini beet with its tops on the plate. next to it, make a quenelle of buckwheat risotto. Place the octopus on top. Arrange the orange and yellowbabycarrots headto tail, and add a dab of beet hummus . Just before serving, emulsify the sauce and pouraround the octopus.

Has this recipe inspired you to discover Maksym Zorin's cuisine ? Read the Gault&Millau review of La Datcha.

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