Within your reach
Sweet, mild octopus is more versatile than you might think.
*
Valentino
Chef Angelo Auriana gets a shipment of fresh baby octopus flown in twice a week from Italy for his zuppetta di moscardini, or octopus soup, a traditional dish of Ancona, on the Adriatic Sea. He simmers the octopus with onion, garlic, Italian tomatoes, white wine, basil and seasonings until it’s nice and tender, and he serves the result over crisped polenta.
* Soup, $15. 3115 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 829-4313.
Petros
At this lovely spot, starters include warm grilled octopus served side by side with cool roasted beets and dressed in a garlic and oregano vinaigrette. It is owner Petros Benekos’ mom’s recipe. It starts by cooking the octopus with a few wine corks -- yes, you read that right -- to tenderize it and impart a subtle wine flavor.
* Octopus, $12. 451 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Manhattan Beach, (310) 545-4100.
Providence
Chef Michael Cimarusti is a big fan of octopus, especially the smallish Japanese variety. Right now he’s using the tender, interior white meat of the tentacles in a pretty, painstakingly assembled terrine that is a hybrid between French and Japanese cuisine. He serves slices of the light, chilled terrine with little rounds of house-made pickled vegetables.
* Terrine, $21. 5955 Melrose Ave., L.A., (323) 460-4170.
Kado
Among the appetizers at this sleek, new Japanese restaurant, situated midway between the Grove and the Original Farmers Market, is a bay scallop and octopus ceviche flavored with shiso and serrano chiles. Served in a martini glass, it is garnished with avocado and cilantro. You can also get octopus sushi at the conveyor-belt-style sushi bar, or anywhere else in the house.
* Ceviche, $12. 6333 W. 3rd St., L.A., (323) 933-0055.
Hatfield’s
A warm octopus salad featured on a recent tasting menu at this pretty neighborhood spot proved so popular that it was just added to the regular menu. Charred bite-size pieces of Japanese octopus are tossed with warm creamy fingerling potatoes, fennel and finished in an orange Banyuls and burnt onion vinaigrette. The final ingredient: julienned mitsuba, sometimes referred to as Japanese parsley.
* Warm octopus salad, $15. 7458 Beverly Blvd., L.A., (323) 935-2977.
*
-- Leslee Komaiko