For Octopus Lovers

For octopus cooks and eaters in the family, and interested blog readers

But Mostly for dear Rainy, who always watches K cooking and ensures her own Greek cooking back home in NZ is authentic and delicious.

Sons in law Yiannis and Kyriakos are excellent cooks.  Yiannis speciality is octopus and Kyriakos steamed mussels. K cooks shrimps with tomatoes and feta (saganaki)

Brothers-in-law

Yiannis and  Kyriakos

Thanks boys for many, many wonderful seafood feasts

Here is how Yiannis cooks such tender and tasty octopus

Freeze fresh octopus for a week or so. Freezing helps to tenderise

  Then it needs preparation before you can cook it or it will be tough as leather

The octopus is whirled around in its own juices.  This prep is essential.  Yiannis assures me this is a vital part of tenderising the octopus and he describes it this way. 

If you're doing the swirling  at home with a supermarket octopus you need a bucket  with a little water in the bottom. 

  How to carry out this important step, called 'paragoulima' .......... 

- Grab the octopus by a tentacle and move it about in the juices and water for a few minutes. Swirl it lovingly , this way and that. 

- Change the water, grab another tentacle and do the same, swirling it around at the bottom of the bucket . 

- Continue doing this, grabbing the next tentacle, swirling, smooshing it around for a few minutes and changing the water till you've done all 8 tentacles and the hood

You'll see fishermen here doing this after catching an octopus, bashing it and then swirling, raising and rolling it in the juices on the rocks or wharf.

K says you should always do this after it has been in the freezer for a while in case it was not prepped properly beforehand. When it's ready the tentacles should start to curl.

Now to cook it.

Yianni's recipe

Put in a pot over a very low heat, don't add any water. Cover the pot and stew slowly .  All the juices in the octopus come out and there should be enough liquid.  I don't know how long it will take, half and hour, an hour.   Poke it with a fork now and again.  When it feels soft then it's ready.

Next make a dressing............ 

Mix olive oil, lemon juice and some thyme in a shaker, a little pepper and crushed garlic to taste.  Taste as you go to see how much lemon juice you need. Don't add salt. 

Put the octopus on a plate, cut into slices and pour over the oil and lemon sauce.

Yianni says, don't let it overcook and get too soft and mushy.

and

In the sauce you make

If you're drinking wine with the meal use lemon juice in the sauce.

If you're drinking ouzo then use vinegar instead

Octopus has no blood so it can eaten all through Orthodox religious fasts.  Along with shellfish, prawns, squid and cuttlefish

On our menu today cuttlefish (cousin to squid) and spinach stewed in tomato, with ouzo and dill

Before BBQing an octopus it has to be hung out in the sun to dry 

On my clothes line

The octopus must be dried before bbqing otherwise when put over the coals it will steam in its juices and become a hard rubbery mass