← Nouns Cooking · Greek

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg octopus, cleaned (fresh or thawed frozen)
• 800 g small shallots or pickling onions, peeled and left whole
• 80 ml Olive oil
• 3 cloves Garlic, chopped
• 200 ml dry red wine
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp Tomato purée (paste)
• 200 g crushed tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 allspice berries
• 1 Cinnamon stick (optional)
• 1 tsp Sugar
• Black pepper

Method

1. Put the octopus in a dry pot with a lid over medium heat. Cover and let it cook in its own juices for 20 min, until it turns deep pink and releases a lot of liquid. Lift it out, keep the liquid, and cut it into large chunks.
2. Wipe the pot, heat the oil over medium heat and cook the shallots for 8–10 min, turning, until golden in patches. Add the garlic and tomato paste and stir for 1 minute.
3. Return the octopus, pour in the wine and vinegar and let them bubble for 2 min. Add the tomatoes, bay, allspice, cinnamon, sugar, pepper and the reserved octopus liquid.
4. Cover and simmer very gently for 1 hour, shaking the pot now and then instead of stirring so the shallots stay whole. Add a splash of water only if it starts to catch.
5. Uncover and simmer for 10–15 min until the octopus is tender when pierced and the sauce is thick and glossy. Taste before salting: octopus is naturally salty.
6. Rest for 10 min and serve with bread, or over orzo or rice.

Tips

• Freezing then thawing octopus makes it more tender, so frozen is a great buy.
• Contains seafood (mollusc).

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

My Greek Dish Dimitras Dishes