Octopus with saffron rice, peas & burnt bell pepper

Octopus, saffron risotto and burnt bell pepper condiment... this is chef Baptiste David's simple and easy recipe.

This recipe from Baptiste David, chef at ÉM.BA restaurant in Lorient, is taken from the 2024 edition ofBook 109: The new blood of French gastronomy. Discover the ingredients and preparation steps to make it a breeze.

Serves 4
Preparation time: 40 min
Cooking time: 3 h 45

Ingredients foroctopus saffron rice

1 kg octopus tentacles
100 g risotto rice
2 g saffron
1 kg peas
2 onions
100 g carrots
3 cloves garlic
1 bunch thyme
1 bell pepper
500 g butter
1 cl olive oil
50 cl chicken stock
25 cl white wine
1 lemon
Coarse salt
Fine salt
Peppe r

Steps for the octopus saffron rice

Preparation: Scald the octopus three times in salted water.
Chop the onions and reserve the trimmings.
Scoop out the peas and boil in plenty of salted water.
To cook the octopus: make a court-bouillon by combining the onion trimmings, chopped carrot and quartered lemon in a saucepan. Add half the thyme, minced garlic and white wine. Simmer the octopus in the court-bouillon, covered, for 3 hours. Keep refrigerated.
To cook the risotto: in a sauté pan, pearlize the rice and chopped onions, deglaze with white wine, add 50 cl chicken stock and saffron. Cook over a low heat for twenty minutes, stirring regularly.
Burnt bell pepper condiment: burn the bell pepper (with a blowtorch or over a wood fire) to remove the skin, then confit it in aluminum foil in the oven at 160°C for 15 minutes. Trim and deseed before blending. Whisk the condiment with olive oil and chill.
To serve: add the butter to the rice, followed by the peas. Brown the octopus in olive oil or over a wood fire and serve.

Forfurther information, contact

ÉM.BA, 11 rue Marie Dorval, 56100 Lorient
11.5/20 in the Livre des 109
Read Gault&Millau's review of ÉM. BA

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