Grill guru Rob Rossi shares his favourite recipes for grilled octopus and smoky Spanish-style steak.

Grilled Octopus with Basil Agliata Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 large octopus
  • 1cup olive oil
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 1 clove garlic
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cut off the body of on large octopus and place into a shallow pot. Cover in cold water.

Season the octopus liberally with kosher salt and one cup of olive oil.

Bring pot to a simmer and reduce heat to slowly cook until tender.

Allow the octopus to cool. Once cool remove and refrigerate.

To prepare Agliata Sauce:

Place 3 egg yolks into a stainless steel bowl and place over a pot of simmering water.

Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the egg yolks.

Using a chef's knife, chop garlic until minced fine. Add garlic to egg yolks, along with lemon and start whisking. Once the egg yolks warm through they will thicken and become pale and fluffy. Remove from heat.

Slowly drizzle 1/2 cup of olive oil into the warm egg yolks. Season sauce with salt and lemon zest.

Grill cooked octopus seasoned with salt and pepper. Place grilled octopus on plate and spoon over sauce. Tear fresh basil onto dish and enjoy. Serves two.

Smoky Spanish Style Steak Marinade

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp sweet smoked paprika
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 Tbsp kosher salt
  • 1 Tbsp fresh thyme
  • 1 ounce olive oil
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced

Directions:

Measure out all dry ingredients and place into a medium sized bowl.

Using a chef's knife, chop the garlic until minced fine. Add garlic to dry ingredients.

Juice lemon into a bowl. Pick thyme off stems, chop roughly. To finish marinade drizzle olive oil into dry ingredients while combing with a whisk.

Once the marinade is done, place the meat into a bowl and coat it generously. Cover the meat with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to two days. Serves two.

Grilled Sweet Peppers

Ingredients:

  • 3 sweet red peppers
  • 2 Tbsp sherry vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp maple syrup
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place sweet peppers onto grill over BIC FlameDisk; cook until blistered and soft.

Set the peppers aside to cool. Once cool, peel and seed peppers by removing stem and skins.

Place peppers into a medium-sized bowl and combine with sherry vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and maple syrup.

Season with salt and pepper. Finish with chopped basil. Serves two.