Octopus Carpaccio

To prepare the octopus carpaccio, start by cleaning the octopus (you can refer to the Cooking School guide: How to Clean and Cook Octopus): take the octopus 1 and with a sharp knife, make an incision along the sac (2-3)

and remove the eyes and beak (4-5); also, empty the inside of the sac, and if you are dealing with a larger octopus, tenderize the meat by gently pounding it with a meat mallet 6.
Rinse the octopus very well under running water, taking care to remove any sand or other impurities from the tentacles.

Fill a large pot with water up to 3/4, add the peeled carrot, the halved onion, the celery stalks, bay leaves, juniper berries, peppercorns, and salt 7. Bring everything to a boil, then dip and remove the tips of the octopus tentacles into the boiling liquid 4-5 times so they curl up nicely (8-9), making them more visually appealing:

Then, completely immerse the octopus in the boiling liquid 10 and let it cook for about 70 minutes. The octopus should be cooked but still firm, so check its doneness by inserting a fork into the flesh. When the octopus is cooked, remove it from the cooking liquid, drain it 11, and cut it into 4-5 pieces (12-13).

Then prepare the plastic bottle 14 which you will use to shape the octopus meat into a cylinder: cut off the top and insert the octopus in a harmonious way 15, as once pressed they will form a pattern on the slices you will cut.

Then puncture the bottom with a pointed pair of scissors 16, a step that will help release excess liquid while you press the octopus into the bottle that you have placed on a plate; using a well-cleaned glass bottle (or anything else that can help you push, like a pestle or meat mallet) slightly smaller than the plastic one, press the octopus meat downwards 17; as you will notice, a lot of cooking liquid will come out from the holes at the bottom of the bottle. With scissors, cut the ends of the bottle to form tabs 18

that you will then fold over themselves towards the center of the bottle 19; then wrap the octopus tightly in the bottle with plastic wrap 20 and place another weight on top.

Once pressed, place the octopus in the coldest part of the refrigerator for at least 34 hours, then, when ready to serve, cut the plastic bottle 22, extract the octopus in a single cylindrical block, and slice it finely with a knife or, better yet, with a slicer (23-34), as if it were a salami.

Then prepare the citronette which will be used to flavor the octopus by emulsifying lemon juice, olive oil, and a pinch of salt 25. Arrange the slices of octopus on a serving platter, sprinkle them with chopped parsley 26, garlic, and season with the citronette 27. Garnish the octopus carpaccio with lemon slices (or wedges) and parsley sprigs.