Bistro Livi’s braised baby octopus and butter beans with saffron and paprika sauce

Remove heads from octopus by cutting below the eyes and above the tentacles and discard. Remove beak from centre of tentacles by pushing through from the cut side with your finger and discard. Cut into quarters.

Blanch octopus, in batches, in a large saucepan of salted boiling water (30 seconds). Drain and set aside.

Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, season, and sauté until softened but not coloured (2-3 minutes). Add ginger, paprika, saffron and bay leaf and stir until fragrant (30 seconds). Add wine, vinegar, 125ml water, stir to combine, then add octopus and season. Bring to the boil, cover with a cartouche, then reduce heat to low and simmer until tender (1 hour). Remove from heat and stand to cool in braising stock (1 hour)

Strain braising stock through a fine sieve into a clean large saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Simmer until reduced by one-third (8-12 minutes). Stir through beans to combine, then pour back over octopus. You can store octopus in the refrigerator at this point for up to 3 days; warm in braising stock before serving.

Spoon octopus and a little braising stock into a bowl to serve.