Grilled bruschetta gets a lot of play as a passed appetizer and starter. But in this version, instead of tomatoes, garlic and basil, the bread is topped with an inventive salad made with simmered Spanish octopus. Salty bottarga and Calabrian chiles help round out the flavors.
Ingredients
Directions
- Prepare the octopus by cutting into 1/8-inch slices.
- Cut the bottarga into 12 paper-thin slices and place the slices on parchment paper.
- Keep covered and refrigerate.
- In a large bowl, combine the octopus with red onion, celery, tomatoes, chile(s), parsley and fennel seeds.
- Toss with olive oil and orange zest and juice, and season with salt and pepper.
- Chill until ready to use.
- Prepare a hot grill.
- Drizzle each slice of baguette with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Grill the baguette slices on one side until they develop a nice char but still retain a bit of chewiness. Do not overtoast.
- Top each warm slice of bread with 1 tablespoon of octopus mixture.
- Finish each bruschetta with a slice of bottarga. Garnish with a celery leaf, if using, and serve.
Ingredient availability varies by location*
