Grilled Octopus requires some preparation, but the final cooking is fairly quick.

Stephanie Alexander, in her Cook’s Companion recommends tenderizing octopus with a meat mallet until the flesh looses its bounciness.

Cut the tentacles away from the body. If the head is not too large, say more than 20cm in diameter, you can use it as well. Turn it inside out and remove the beak and internal organs. Remove the suckers from the tentacles and skin them under running water. If you are using the head score it well or cut into strips similar in size to the tentacles.

Marinate the octopus for a few hours or preferably overnight in olive oil along with some garlic, dried oregano and bay leaves.

To cook drain off the olive oil and grill for a few minutes on a hot barbecue plate or under your kitchen grill. Don’t bother about a dipping sauce, just serve with lemon or lime wedges.

Grilled octopus can be served as a tapas dish (just add toothpicks) as part of a seafood platter, or as a dish in its own right.

A crisp aromatic white wine can be served with octopus. Why not try an albarino

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Imma’s Stuffed Mussels - Mejillones Rellenos [Tigres]

My friend Imma is a Tapas freak. She runs the Tapas recipes website which is full of authentic recipes for the most delicous little Spanish snacks.

Imma says In Bilbao, these stuffed mussels are called Tigres because of their fieriness. I fondly remember the crowded little bars in the old part of Bilbao, where orders of tigres would emerge by the dozens from the tiny kitchens. We devoured these mussels and everyone dropped the empty shells right onto the floor, where periodically they would be raked up. This tapa is not as popular today in the bars as it once was, but I like it so much that I make it whenever I find fresh mussels.

* Servings: Makes 18 pieces

Ingredients
* 1 1/2 dozen mussels, scrubbed and beards removed
* 3 tablespoon water
* 2 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 tablespoon minced onion
* 2 tablespoon flour
* 3 tablespoon white wine
* 1/2 cup mussel liquid
* 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water
* 4 tablespoon fine dry breadcrumbs
* Olive oil for frying

Preparation

Steam open the mussels. Put them in a deep pan with the water. Cover the pan and put over a high heat, shaking the pan, until the shells open. Remove from heat and discard any mussels that do not open.

Mussels can also be opened in a microwave. Place them in a microwave-safe bowl, partially covered, and microwave at full power for one minute. Stir and microwave one minute more. Remove any mussels that have opened and microwave one minute more. Again remove open ones. Repeat twice more. Discard any mussels that have not opened.

When mussels are cool enough to handle, remove and discard the empty half shells. Loosen the mussel meat from the bottom shell and arrange the mussels in their shells on a tray in a single layer. Strain the mussel liquid and reserve it.

Heat the two tablespoons of oil in a saucepan and sauté the minced onion until it is softened, without letting it brown. Stir in the flour, cook for a minute, stirring, then whisk in the wine and the mussel liquid. Cook, stirring, until the mixture is thickened and smooth. Put a spoonful of this white sauce onto each mussel and smooth it level with the top of the shell.

Refrigerate until the sauce is firmly set, at least one hour. Place the beaten egg in one dish and the bread crumbs in another. Dip the mussels, open face down, first into egg, then bread crumbs. Arrange them on the tray in a single layer. (The mussels can be prepared up to this point, then frozen. Freeze them in one layer, then pack them carefully in a freezer bag or plastic container. Let them thaw at least one hour before continuing with the preparation.)

To fry the mussels, heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a frying pan. Fry them in two or three batches, breaded side down, until golden brown. Drain briefly on paper towels and serve hot.

Food Pairing with Mussels

These mussels would be an ideal dish to serve with a bottle of Albarino, or if they are part of a larger platter of tapas perhaps with a bottle of Tempranillo

If you enjoy these mussels you can find more Tapas recipes on Imma’s Tapas site

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This is a splendid feast for a dozen or so people. It needs a courtyard and a long sunny afternoon with plenty of good friends. If you serve it in winter, don’t worry, the earthy flavours will enable you and your guests to dream of a sunny courtyard.

A note on the ingredients - you can scale the quantities up and down and substitute for out of season vegetables.

Seafood ingredients (about 200g per person more you use shellfish):
Salt cod, firm fleshed fish fillets, scallops, prawns, oysters, mussels, crabs, baby octopus or even lobster

Vegetables: any or all of the following
New potatoes steamed
Fresh beetroot, wrap in foil, bake in moderate oven for 1 hour, then rub off skin
Baby carrots, blanched
Small green beans, blanched
Fresh artichokes trimmed and boiled for 20 minutes
Asparagus, steamed
Cauliflower broken into florets and steamed

12 eggs, hardboiled shelled and halved
About 2 cups of aioli see recipe
Parsley or fresh herbs to garnish.
Some crusty French bread sticks.

This whole thing is a bit of a logistical nightmare, so aim to have the vegetables prepared early and kept warm rather than hot. As each is ready place it onto warm serving platter or too, gradually assembling the feast. A slotted spoon is very handy for all of this.

The seafood ingredients should be poached in water or you could use stock. Cook the salt cod separately. I retain the cooking liquor from the other seafoods to make a soup later.

When the seafood is ready arrange it on your platter(s) with the vegetables and top with the boiled eggs. Scatter over some parsley.

Serve with breadsticks and bowls of aioli so that guests can help themselves.

You need plenty of cold white wine with this dish. I would recommend a Marsanne or perhaps a Viognier. Another choice would be a Provencal style rose, perhaps made from Grenache or perhaps Mourvedre.

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