Pickled And Grilled Octopus Recipes

Steps:

• Fill a large pot 1/2 full with water. Add 2 tablespoons kosher salt, peppercorns, and the wine cork; bring to a boil over high heat.
• Meanwhile, place octopus on a cutting board. Using a wooden spoon or meat mallet, pound the octopus multiple times, starting in the middle and moving down each tentacle to tenderize the meat.
• Dip tentacles into the boiling water 3 times, holding them in the boiling water 2 to 3 seconds each time, until the tentacles curl up. Submerge entire octopus in the boiling water. Bring water back to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until octopus is fork-tender, 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 30 minutes.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Grill octopus until charred on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
• Remove from heat, slice into pieces, and place on a serving platter. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, squeeze lemon over top, sprinkle with parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• If you can buy cleaned octopus you can skip the next stage.
• Gut the octopus and peel the skin from the octopus. Remove the beak (it is located at the top of the legs).
• Place the octopus in large pan with 1 cup water. Cook over medium/low heat. The octopus will give off a lot of liquid but check ocassionally that there is still enough liquid in the pan.
• Cook for about 1 -1 1/2 hours. Test with a skew, it should easily pierce the flesh.
• Remove from pan and allow to cool slightly or cool enough to handle.
• Slice tentacles into 3cm lengths and body into pieces.
• Mix up the dressing ingredients. Check dressing that it is not too vinegary as vinegar strenght is so variable.
• Pack the octopus in the sterlised jars and pour over the marinade.
• Let sit in the refrigerator for 5 days before eating.
• Serve as part of meze.

Steps:

• Preheat grill. In a large stockpot, bring water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Add whole octopus, and simmer for 1 hour. Remove octopus from boiling water and let cool at room temperature for 15 minutes. Cut the tentacles from the head, and discard the head. Sprinkle oregano over the octopus tentacles. Grill octopus for 10 minutes, turn over and grill for an additional 10 minutes. Remove octopus from the grill and chop into small pieces. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil. Place chopped octopus onto serving plates and drizzle lemon vinaigrette over the octopus.

Steps:

• Boil octopus in salted water until cooked through (check inside with a paring knife), 15 to 20 minutes. To a metal bowl add oil, oregano, pepper flakes, garlic, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper, then add octopus and toss.
• Preheat a grill to high heat.
• Place octopus on the grill for 3 to 4 minutes, then transfer back to bowl and back to grill. Repeat this step a few times. Finally, put octopus back in bowl and add balsamic vinegar. Toss well, then serve over baby greens.

Steps:

• Defrost the octopus by placing it in a bowl of lightly salted water in the refrigerator, until pliable or overnight. Press out the beak. Clip the eyes from the head and discard. Turn the hood inside out and discard the viscera. Wash and rinse thoroughly under cold running water.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place the octopus in a deep ovenproof pan and cover, without adding water. Place in oven and cook until the octopus is bright pink-red and feels tender, turning the octopus frequently, about 1 1/2 hours. Drain the octopus in a colander and rinse under cold running water. Rub off the skin and discard. Shake the octopus dry, rub the flesh with the coarse salt and leave to dry on a towel-lined plate or baking pan in the refrigerator, covered, at least 2 hours.
• Cut the chilled octopus into 2-inch pieces and tightly pack into a 1-quart jar.
• In a small saucepan, combine the olive oil, vinegar, oregano, bay leaves, sugar, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Pour the liquid over the octopus in the jar. Add the lemon pulp, and if necessary pour in olive oil until the marinade covers the octopus. Cover, cool, and refrigerate overnight, or up to 1 week.
• Remove jar from the refrigerator about 1 hour before serving.
• Preheat a grill. Skewer the octopus pieces, reserving the marinade. Grill the octopus until browned along the edges and heated through, turning once and brushing with the reserved marinade. Serve with lemon wedges.

Steps:

• Heat a large dry pot on medium-high heat and flash sear the octopi to release the juices, about 1 minute.
• Cover with a lid, turn the heat down to simmer, and cook the octopi for about 45 minutes.
• Add the onion, carrot, bay leaves, garlic, red wine vinegar, water, oregano, parsley stems and peppercorns and place a weight on on top of the octopi so that they stay immersed in the liquid.
• Bring to a boil on medium-high heat.
• Then lower to a gently simmer until the octopi are tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Swish the octopus legs around with the tongs to remove the dark reddish membranes.
• Drain the octopi, discarding the cooking liquid, and cool to room temperature.
• Marinade/Vinaigrette:.
• Put the garlic, balsamic vinegar, pepper sauce, and shallot in a small saucepan on medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
• Lower heat and simmer until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
• Cool the vinegar mixture.
• Put the cooled vinegar mixture, capers, and parsley in a large bowl and whisk in the olive oil until incorporated.
• Taste to adjust the seasoning and add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Remove 1/3 of the vinaigrette and reserve for after grilling.
• Add octopi to bowl and toss marinade overnight.
• Preheat grill on high.
• Grill the octopi for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side and serve with the reserved vinaigrette.
• Pour over the octopus and serve.

Steps:

• Combine octopus, bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns, 1 teaspoon salt, garlic and 1 lemon, cut in half, in saucepan along with water to cover. Turn heat to medium, cover, and bring to boil. Adjust heat so that liquid simmers slowly, and cook until octopus is tender, for 30 to 90 minutes, depending on whether you're using two smaller octopuses or 1 larger one (check for doneness with point of sharp knife). Drain, discarding everything but octopus. (You can prepare this 24 hours in advance up to this point; cover, and refrigerate octopus.) Set aside.
• Start charcoal or wood fire, or preheat gas grill; fire should be quite hot. Grill rack about 4 inches from heat source. Cut octopus into large serving pieces, brush it with half the olive oil, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Grill it quickly until outside browns but inside is not dried out. Cut remaining lemon into wedges.
• Brush octopus with remaining olive oil. Serve with lemon wedges, hot or at room temperature, garnished with parsley.

Steps:

• For the octopus: preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a large pot, combine all of the ingredients (the corks are believed to tenderize the octopus) and season with salt. Cover with a lid and slowly bring to a boil over medium-low heat. Place in the oven and cook until the octopus is easily pierced with a knife, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Let cool to room temperature in liquid. Remove the octopus and, using scissors, separate the tentacles from the body. Discard the head and beak.
• For the marinade: combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Marinate the tentacles for at least 30 minutes. Preheat a grill to high heat.
• For the salad: in a small saucepan, bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil over medium heat. Add the onions and remove from the heat. Allow to cool. Strain the liquid.
• Grill the octopus over high heat for about 1 minute; turn the tentacles and cook for 1 more minute.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and the olive oil. Add the oregano and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Add the pickled onions and chickpeas and mix well. To serve, spoon the chickpea mixture onto plates and place the octopus on top.

Steps:

• To poach the octopus, adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 300°F.
• In a braising pot just big enough to hold the octopus, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat until it is almost smoking and slides easily in the pan, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the octopus and sear it for 8 to 10 minutes, turning to cook all sides evenly, until the octopus is burgundy all over and browned in places. Remove the octopus to a plate and wipe out the pot. In the pot you seared the octopus in, heat the garlic cloves with 2 tablespoons of the remaining olive oil and sauté the garlic over medium-high heat, stirring often, until it is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat. Remove and discard the garlic cloves and return the octopus to the pot. Add the red pepper flakes, wine cork, and enough olive oil to cover the octopus. Put the lid on the pot and place it in the oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the octopus is very tender; it will puncture and tear easily with a fork. Remove the pot from the oven, and set it aside to allow the octopus to cool to room temperature in the oil. Remove the octopus from the oil, reserving the oil to poach another octopus within a week, and place the octopus on a baking sheet. (If you are going to reuse the oil, strain it and refrigerate it until you are ready to use it.) Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate the octopus overnight or for at least several hours.
• Lay the octopus on a cutting board and spread out the tentacles like the petals of a flower. Use a large knife to cut the octopus in half through the body, keeping the tentacles intact. Working from the body outward as if you were cutting off the petals of the flower, cut each tentacle to remove it from the head. Turn the head inside out, scrape out and discard any guck left inside the head, and cut the head into quarters. Cut the body into 2-inch segments, leaving the ends of each tentacle long for their dramatic effect on the plate, and place all of the octopus pieces in a medium bowl or a large, nonreactive baking dish.
• To make the marinade, combine the parsley, olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes in the bowl of a miniature food processor fitted with a metal blade or the jar of a blender and purée. Drizzle the marinade over the octopus and toss to coat it with the marinade. Cover the bowl or dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate the octopus until you are ready to grill it or for up to three days.
• To make the salad, steam the potatoes until they are tender when pierced with a small sharp knife, about 20 minutes. Remove the potatoes to a plate until they are cool enough to touch. Use a small, sharp knife to remove the peel from the potatoes and discard the peels. Slice the potatoes into 1/2-inch-thick rounds, place them in a small bowl, and set aside.
• While the potatoes are cooking, fill a large saucepan with water, bring the water to a boil over high heat, and salt it to taste like the ocean, adding approximately 1 tablespoon of salt to each quart of water. Fill a bowl with ice water. Place the leek in a fine-mesh strainer and plunge into the boiling water to blanch it for 1 minute. Lift the strainer out of the water and immediately plunge the strainer into the ice water for about 1 minute to cool the leek. Remove the strainer from the water and turn the leek out onto paper towels to drain.
• Prepare a hot fire in a gas or charcoal grill or preheat a grill pan.
• Season the potatoes with the 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and toss to distribute the salt evenly over the potato slices. Add the leek, scallions, sliced celery, and celery leaves to the bowl with the potatoes. Season the salad with salt and pepper, drizzle with 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette, and toss to coat with the seasonings. Taste for seasoning and add more vinaigrette, salt, and pepper, if desired. Pile the salad in the center of four plates, dividing it equally and reserving any vinaigrette left in the bottom of the bowl.
• Have the bowl with the reserved vinaigrette nearby and grill the octopus pieces until they are charred on all sides, about 3 minutes total. Remove the octopus pieces from the grill as they are done and place them in the bowl with the vinaigrette you tossed the salad with. Drizzle with another 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette and toss to coat the octopus with the vinaigrette. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, if desired.
• Stack the octopus pieces on top of the salads, dividing them evenly and reserving the long dramatic tentacles for the tops of the salads. Squeeze a few drops of lemon over each serving of octopus. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the vinaigrette over and around each salad. Scatter a few chive batonettes over the top of each plate, and serve.
• Verdicchio Dei Castelli di Jesi (The Marches)

Steps:

• Combine the octopus, bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns, 1 teaspoon salt, the garlic, and one of the lemons, cut in half, in a saucepan along with water to cover. Turn the heat to medium, cover, and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat so that the liquid simmers slowly and cook until the octopus is tender, 30 to 90 minutes (check with the point of a sharp knife). Drain, discarding all the solids (except the octopus). You can prepare this 24 hours in advance up to this point; cover and refrigerate the octopus.
• Start a charcoal or wood fire or preheat a gas grill; the fire should be quite hot and the grill rack about 4 inches from the heat source. Cut the octopus into large serving pieces, brush it with half of the olive oil, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Grill it quickly, so that the outside browns before the inside dries out. Cut the remaining lemons into wedges.
• Brush the octopus with the remaining olive oil. Serve with lemon wedges, hot or at room temperature, garnished with the parsley.
• Grilled Squid with Vinaigrette
• Much simpler: Cut cleaned squid into big rings (or use baby squid, cleaned but left whole) and skewer it. Grill or pan-grill it over quite high heat until browned, less than 5 minutes. Serve as directed or drizzled with Vinaigrette (page 600).