I met Dave Mullen in 1996. At the time we were in culinary school and he had just recently quit his job driving a Budweiser truck to fulfill a life long dream in the kitchen. Many years and many restaurants later he now rides a sleek Harley and has been hailed as one of the top up-and-coming Chefs in America. Recently, he was nominated as “best new Chef of South Florida” by The Star Chefs association. Get er done Dave!

So what’s the hot young gun doing these days? He’s currently head Chef of a Ritz Carlton property called Angle in Palm beach … and Man oh man his food is both thoughtful and beautiful..the Da Vinci, the Frank Lloyd Wright of modern day cuisine!! Molly and I had the opportunity to dine there last December and both of us were simply speechless after eating his tasting menu. Arctic Char with lamb belly rocked the boat BUT the big stand out for me was the slow cooked octopus. The execution was flawless and the flavor profile was subtle yet complex. Dave graciously gave me the recipe to share with all of you out there on Flavor Highway. Big thanks Dave!! Great eating your food and can’t wait for you to come home to SF and open your new space!

aloha from me and gang at H.O.G.

Dave’s Slow-Cooked Octopus with Green Tomato Sofrito and Tasso Ham
Serves 4 people

For the octopus
8 oz octopus (or 4 tentacles)
2 cups extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic
6 stems of fresh thyme
6 peppercorns
Pinch salt

For the sofrito
10 green tomatoes, core removed (you can use small red tomatoes if green is not available)
½ Anaheim chili or habanera, stem and seeds removed
½ red onion, rough chopped
2 cloves garlic
Pinch sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
Salt to taste

For the frisee salad
1 small bunch frisee, end removed, torn apart with hand and washed
½ cup chopped fresh herbs (basil, parsley, chives and tarragon)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper

For the garnish
4 each Piquillo peppers (these are sweet Spanish peppers that you buy in the can)
.3 ounces Spicy Tasso Ham (You can buy Tasso ham from most specialty stores and butchers)

Instructions

For the octopus
Cover octopus with olive oil, add garlic, thyme, peppercorns and cook at 220 degrees until tender (approx 5-6 hours). When done take out and let rest for at least 5 minutes prior to serving.

For the sofrito
Turn on broiler in oven to high.Place all the ingredients in a bowl and toss with a tablespoon of olive oil. Place in a cast iron skillet or pan that can take high heat.Put pan under the broiler and cook ingredients until lightly caramelized (not burnt).Puree in blender until smooth and season with salt, pepper, sugar and rice wine vinegar.

For the Frisee Salad
Toss all the ingredients in a bowl and set to the side.

For the garnish
Chop the ham into medium size pieces, sauté and cook until brown.

To Serve
Spoon a heaping tablespoon of sauce in the center of a nice plate. Place one tentacle over sauce. Place a few pieces of ham around the octopus. Place the pepper to one side of the octopus. And lastly put a small hand full of greens over top.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 13th, 2008 at 11:37 am and is filed under Main Dishes, Food Experiences. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.