Tom Haynes plunges in at Chiswick with grilled baby octopus

Baby octopus goes spectacularly with tahini and hummus. One of Matt Moran’s top chefs explains how to do it.

Grilled baby octopus with tahini, hummus and rosemary at Chiswick, Sydney.

The dish: Grilled baby octopus, tahini, hummus, rosemary

Backstory: Tom Haynes recently has stepped up to the position of head chef at Chiswick, Matt Moran’s outpost in Woollahra, Sydney, having moved from the mothership of Aria. Originally from Britain, Haynes previously worked with Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s. He is hands-on in the Chiswick kitchen garden and experiments with vegetables, fruits, herbs and leaves at home. The first menu for a new head chef is always exciting, if daunting. Haynes has previously been ­delighted by the response to his Middle Eastern grilled octopus dish. Baby octopus, he says, “is flexible, fresh and combines brilliantly with so many flavours”. “With the ‘three ­element’ style we are bringing to our menu, the simple combination of baby octopus, chickpea and ­sesame seemed to work together too well and the dish makes so much sense with the food nar­rative of the restaurant.” It’s a ­classic with a twist. “I honestly love the smell of this dish, the ­tanginess of the ­tahini dressing mixed with the charred smell of the baby octopus and the toasted sesame seeds.”

Produce: “The guys down in Coffin Bay, South Australia, collect this octopus in ­little jars that resemble soft drink cans on suspension lines. When the tides change, the octopus hide in them to avoid bigger predators, and when the tide goes out the fishermen wade out and grab them.”

Method: The marinade is a straightforward blend, with rosemary as a twist. The octopus spends four hours marinating. Two other processes are required: making the hummus and the tahini sauce. “I love the tahini sauce that we make, mixed with the olive oil, lemon and the juices from the grilled octopus; it really finishes the dish,” says Haynes. “I am also a big fan of the chickpeas; we soak chickpeas overnight to soften them (although tinned are fine), cook them in a little veg stock and remove the skins. Then we mix them with fresh chopped rosemary, salt, extra virgin olive oil and roast in the oven — ground up with the toasted sesame seeds and dried rosemary salt adding a crunchy texture to the dish.”

The twist: “The hummus. We make coarse style hummus to catch all the octopus juice on the plate.”
Other terrific restaurant octopus dishes: Octopus with hummus and tabouli at Africola, Adelaide; twice cooked octopus with spinach, white beans and red wine vinaigrette at Alpha, Sydney

The price: $23

The recipe

Hummus:250g tin chick peas, drained | 50ml extra virgin olive oil | 50g tahini paste | 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely grated | 8g ground cumin | juice of 1 lemon | 50ml water

Process until it looks good - add water to achieve correct consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in a bowl until smooth, will keep in the fridge for a few weeks.

400g baby octopus | 2tbsp olive oil | zest of 1 lemon | juice of 1 lemon | salt | pepper | 1 sprig of rosemary, picked | 2 garlic cloves, crushed | roasted chickpeas and sesame seeds, for serving

Ask your fishmonger to cut the octopus in half, clean it and remove the brain. Marinate in olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon zest, crushed garlic and rosemary. Leave covered in fridge for four hours. Bring to room temperature for one hour before use (this stops the octopus from toughening up when you cook it).

Heat the barbecue on high. Place octopus on the grill. Cook on 1 side for 2 minutes, flip for a few seconds and take off the heat. Pour the lemon juice and the hummus into a bowl and mix. Liberally spoon the hummus onto a warm plate, and place the octopus on top. Spoon remaining dressing from the bowl on to the octopus and sprinkle with roasted chickpeas and sesame seeds.