A most elegant party dish, easy to prepare in advance.
You will need a large octopus, about 2/3 kg.
You may be able to get the fishmonger to clean it.
If not get out your sharpest knife.
Cut off the head just below the eyes. Turn it inside out and remove all the innards. Detach the eyes: Pinch together the flesh surrounding the eyes, and neatly slice them off. Peel away the outer membrane. Slice the head in strips from top to bottom. Spread the tentacles to locate the beak. Cut around it and push it out from behind. Thoroughly rinse both head and tentacles.
Now put it all in a plastic bag and freeze overnight. This will both sterilise it and make the final dish more tender. Leave out to unfreeze and you are ready to cook it.
In a large pan bring salted water to the boil.
When on a rolling boil hold the tentacles by the body, dip into the water for a few seconds and withdraw, letting the water drain off. You will see the tentacles begin to curl. Repeat a few times until all the tentacles have curled up to your satisfaction. Then slowly lower the whole thing into the pan and add the strips of head.
Turn the water to the lowermost simmer possible and leave for about an hour. It is done when you can insert a knife into the thickest part of the tentacles without much pressure. Turn the heat off and allow to cool in the cooking water. Drain and allow to cool further until it is barely warm. Cut the tentacles into singles.
Now on to the assembly:
Take an empty 2 litre plastic soft-drink bottle, the sort you get the lemonade for your Pimms in.
Pierce a hole in the centre of the base and cut the top off below the pointy bit.
In turn drop each tentacle into the bottle and push down with large wooden spoon or potato masher if it fits, squeezing as much liquid out through the hole in the base. Between each tentacle sprinkle with paprika and add a couple of bits of the head .
When full make a few cuts in the bottle from the top down to where the octopus starts. Fold these over inwards to create a top, trimming the strips to fit the width of the bottle. Wrap the bottle in cling film and pop in the freezer.
When ready to serve cut away the cling film and bottle and you should have a frozen cylinder of octopus. Slice very finely with a mandolin or sharp knife.
Place the slices in a spiral on a serving plate and add a touch more paprika. Serve with a warm potato salad on the side.