GRILLED OCTOPUS – THE GREEK WAY! Equipment: Large sauce pot Outdoor grill (or indoor grill pan) Ingredients: 2 kg frozen octopus 5 allspice berries A pinch of mixed tricolour pepper 2 cloves garlic 2 bay leaves 1 sprig of fresh thyme 2/3 tablespoon sea salt Choice of your vegetables: celery, onion, carrot, etc. For the marinade: 1/2 cup olive oil 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp dried oregano 1-2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tbsp finely chopped capers (optional) 1 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Instructions Defrost the octopus completely in the fridge overnight. Rinse your octopus well under cool running water. Cut the head out and remove the beak (if it has one). Place your octopus in a large pot. Add the allspice berries, garlic, bay leaves, your choice of vegetables and fresh thyme. Add enough water to just cover the octopus. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium. Cook, covered, for approximately 45-50 minutes. The octopus should feel tender when you run a knife through it but the skin should still look firm, don’t let it cook to the point it falls off and turns mushy. Remove the octopus from the cooking liquid and set aside. Prepare your marinade. In a large bowl or measuring cup, combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano, lemon juice, capers, parsley and pepper. Mix well and set aside. Meanwhile, prepare your grill. Chop up the octopus into 3 sections, the head, and two sections of 4 legs each. This will make it easier for you to grill the octopus, without being concerned that you will lose any legs through the grate of the grill. When your grill is hot, place the octopus on it. Remember, it is already cooked; you are simply warming it up, and getting some nice char marks on the octopus. This should take only a few minutes per side. Any longer and you risk over-cooking the octopus. Remove the octopus from the grill, place it in a bowl, and pour the marinade over it. Take a piece at a time, cut into bite size pieces, and return to the marinade. Toss well. There should be enough marinade to coat the octopus very well. Allow it to sit in the marinade for at least 5 – 10 minutes before serving. Serve sprinkled with some additional chopped parsley if desired, and a wedge of lemon.
