This dish was actually one that we had on our tasting menu over the summer. The preparation for the octopus is among one of my favorites. We start by slow braising the octopus in red wine with aromatics and miropoix. Once the octopus is cooked we cool it down, marinate it, and reserve. When ready we grilled it over hard wood. The set is a simple pickled pencil bean salad, baby frisee, and shaved radish. The other fun component was the smoked tomato coulis. We cold smoked the tomatoes, and then pureed and passed them through a chinois. Once we adjusted the seasoning we used agar agar as the thickener. This gave the coulis a mayonnaise like consistency. When eaten all together it was smoky, acidic, and savory. This was a real delight for the palate and a great way to start a meal.