Octopus? Yes, but with an extra twist: this version is enriched with soft potatoes and charcoal crumble for a contrasting combination that leaves a lasting impression. The recipe is by German Scalmazzi, chef at La Rotonda in Porto Recanati.

Ingredients

1 3 kg octopus
100 cl water

For the potato soufflé

1 kg Palmiano potatoes
250 g butter
250 g milk

For the sautéed mushrooms

400 g Chiodino mushrooms
50 g chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, unpeeled
20 cl extra virgin olive oil

For the charcoal crumble

500 g flour
160 g water
20 g oil
15 g salt
10 g powdered vegetable charcoal
5 g octopus ink

Procedure

Clean the octopus, setting aside the ink sac. Cook in a saucepan over low heat for 50 minutes, adding 100 cl of water after 5 minutes. Cover, cook until done, and let cool in the saucepan.

Once cooled, separate the tentacles from the head and grill for 4 minutes on each side.

Clean the honey mushrooms, sauté them in a pan previously heated with extra-virgin olive oil and a clove of garlic. Cook for 10 minutes so that the mushrooms remain crisp, then add the chopped parsley.

For the soft potato mixture: wash the outer skin thoroughly to remove any soil and wrap the potatoes in damp jute. Cook the potatoes in the ashes, covering them overnight: “We cook the potatoes in the ashes of the barbecue at the end of service.” The following day, peel the potatoes and mash them, place the mixture in a terracotta pan, add the butter at room temperature and the milk previously heated to 55 degrees, mix all the ingredients together with a whisk over a low heat until the mixture is smooth and velvety.

For the charcoal crumble: place all the ingredients in a mixer and knead until you obtain a smooth mixture. Leave the dough to rest for 1 hour in the refrigerator at 4 degrees. Once the dough has firmed up, pass it through a meat grinder and bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 187 degrees. Once cooked, leave the dough to dry overnight on a sieve over the grills of a warm barbecue that has been turned off. The next day, blend in a Thermomix and pass through a fine sieve.

Dish composition

Place a dot of pure, previously pasteurized squid ink on the bottom of the plate. Cut the octopus into regular pieces and place them on top, add the sautéed mushrooms and then the soft potatoes to cover everything. Sprinkle with charcoal bread ash to complete the dish.