Grilled octopus 

A cephalopod mollusc with eight sucker-bearing arms, a soft body, strong beak like jaws, and no internal shell.

A dish that I really enjoyed in Greece is Octopus, the Octopus served in Greek taverns by the sea, with your feet on the sand. The Greeks love octopus, they generally serve it together with other varieties of mezedes (appetizers) and cook it in many ways, grilled, stewed, marinated.

Choosing a recipe was not easy and in the end I decided for this one that seems to me the most representative, the octopus is boiled, then marinated in extra virgin olive oil, oregano and red wine to soften and flavor the meat and finally cooked quickly on the grill to make the outside crispy. The result is like a trip to Greece: warm and unforgettable with the scent of the sea.

Ingredients

Appetizer for 4 servings - Lunch or Dinner for 2 servings

700 gr of clean octopus

2 teaspoons dried oregano

integral salt of the Atlantic

ground black pepper

1 teaspoon unpasteurized apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

For the Marinade

1/2 glass of dry red wine

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, or dried oregano

1 tablespoon unpasteurized apple cider vinegar

To serve

1 lemon

Procedure

Put the whole octopus in a pot containing enough boiling water to cover it, bring it back to a boil and cook over high heat for 7-8 minutes. Then cover the pot with a lid and continue cooking for about 45 minutes over low heat, the octopus should cook slowly. Remove from heat and add the ingredients for the marinade to the pot: red wine, apple cider vinegar and oregano. Leave the octopus to marinate until the liquid has cooled or, better yet, let it rest in the refrigerator overnight to have the next day the tender octopus ready to grill. Heat a cast iron grill or prepare the barbecue to grill the octopus. Drain the octopus from the marinade and possibly remove the skin, cut the head of the octopus before grilling and leave the body whole. Put the octopus in a bowl, add the extra virgin olive oil and a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, two teaspoons of oregano, season with pepper and salt. Put the octopus on the grill and brown for about 2-3 minutes on both sides. Remove from the grid, cut the head and tentacles into small pieces of about 3 cm and put on a serving plate. Season with extra virgin olive oil, a splash of lemon juice, dried oregano and salt.

Serve with lemon slices.

Tip

A good method to obtain a soft octopus is to freeze it because the cold has the same effect as beating, breaking the fibers and making the meat of the octopus softer.

Info

The octopus is a very lean and satiating mollusc thanks to the consistency of the connective tissue.