Octopus and bone marrow tacos
- medium
- makes 16 tacos
- 1 hour 30 minutes plus cooling time
One of the iconic dishes at Santiago Lastra’s celebrated restaurant KOL, this dish is brought to the table so diners can build their own tacos of salsa macha-glazed octopus, potatoes, seaweed, bone marrow and a fiery chilli salsa. Each element plays a very important role in the final taste of the dish, which is a fantastic example of Santiago’s forward-thinking approach to Mexican cooking with British ingredients.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Octopus
- 1 large octopus, weighing approx. 3.5kg
- lamb fat, melted, for brushing
Bone marrow
- 250g of bone marrow, on the bone, cut lengthways
- 25g of table salt
Salsa macha
- 5g of dried seaweed
- 50g of peanuts
- 30g of dried chillies
- 120g of vegetable oil
Habanero salsa
- 60g of Scotch bonnet chillies
- 60g of carrots, roasted
- 150ml of verjus, or any fermented juice
- salt
New potatoes
- 80g of new potatoes
- 50g of wakame seaweed
To serve
- 16 flour tortillas, warmed and kept warm in a clean tea towel
Equipment
- Barbecue or chargrill pan
- Thermometer
- Scissors
Method
Begin by cooking the octopus. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and lower the octopus into it. Cook for 30–45 minutes or until the octopus is tender when pierced with a knife. Remove the head (this can be used in another dish). Leave the tentacles in the water off the heat until ready to grill
- 1 large octopus, weighing approx. 3.5kg
- salt
Next, brine the bone marrow. Fill a pan with 500ml of water and add 25g of table salt. Heat to dissolve then chill. Once chilled, add the bone marrow and leave to brine for 30 minutes
- 250g of bone marrow, on the bone, cut lengthways
- 25g of table salt
Make the salsa macha by toasting the seaweed, nuts and chillies in a hot dry pan for a few minutes until fragrant. Transfer to a blender and blitz with the oil
- 5g of dried seaweed
- 50g of peanuts
- 30g of dried chillies
- 120g of vegetable oil
To make the habanero salsa, blend all ingredients together into a smooth sauce. Season with salt
- 60g of Scotch bonnet chillies
- 60g of carrots, roasted
- 150ml of verjus, or any fermented juice
- salt
Cook the new potatoes in salted water with the wakame seaweed until tender. Drain and reserve both
- 80g of new potatoes
- 50g of wakame seaweed
Finely slice the potatoes and cut the wakame seaweed into ribbons. Brush the potatoes with lamb fat and place in a low oven to keep warm and crisp up slightly
- lamb fat
Now everything is ready, heat up a barbecue or large griddle pan until smoking hot. Place the bone marrow on the grill or pan cut-side up and brush with lamb fat. Cook until soft and caramelised – the internal temperature should reach 65ºC
When the bone marrow is nearly ready, brush the octopus tentacles with lamb fat then place on the grill or pan. Turn occasionally, brushing with lamb fat as you go, until it begins to caramelise and crisp up. When it’s nearly ready, start brushing it with the salsa macha
- lamb fat, melted, for brushing
To serve, plate the octopus on a large platter and brush again liberally with the salsa macha. Serve with the bone marrow, warm tortillas, habanero salsa and a dish of potatoes (garnished with the wakame seaweed it was cooked with). Provide scissors to cut up the octopus as Santiago does in the restaurant and let everyone build their own tacos
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