There’s a jar of beautifully marinated octopus that you can buy from the main grocery store near here. Unfortunately at $12 for a small jar, I only buy it once a year. But I’m absolutely addicted to it, and since buying octopus is well priced, I thought I’d give this a go. Larger octopus is also available, but since I’m starting out, I’d rather try baby octopus (it makes me less squeamish).
Meanwhile, octopus is a fussy thing when it comes to cook time. You don’t want it undercooked (ugh) but overcooked and you may as well chew a car tyre. Tasty. After lots of researching online (some say cook it low and slow, others the quick blanch technique), I’m pretty sure I have the right timing. It worked out well for me anyways!
- 2 cups defrosted cleaned baby octopus
- 1 cup vinegar
- ½ c canola oil
- 1 tsp dried chilli
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt and pepper
- Start by bringing a pot of water to boil and at the same time, turn on the grill or bbq.
- Once the water is boiled and the grill is hot, plunge the baby octopus in to the boiling water to blanch for 1 minute.
- Then remove, and place on the grill, cooking it for another 1 minute either side.
- Remove from the heat and place the octopus in a jar with a sealable lid.
- In a frying pan on the stove, toss together the chilli, garlic and oregano with a bit of canola oil to start to release the flavours.
- Pour in over the octopus, then top with the rest of the vinegar and canola oil.
- Give it a good stir, then make sure the octopus is before the surface (otherwise fill with more vinegar and oil to top).
- Place in the fridge for a week before eating.
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