Grilled octopus

I will always remember the octopus hanging in the afternoon sun on the Greek islands. Grilling the octopus only takes a few minutes, and it’s usually served as a meze, accompanied by bowls of olives, cheese and ouzo.

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  2:30 hours

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1 kg octopus, tenderised
• 2 cups dry white wine
• 1¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 4 tbsp rigani
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp cracked black pepper
• 10 sprigs rosemary leaves
• lemon wedges and parsley, to serve

You will need to begin this recipe 1 day ahead.

Instructions

Rinse the octopus well in several changes of water, place in a large saucepan with the wine, adding water if necessary to cover.

Bring slowly to the boil, cover and reduce the heat and simmer for 1¾ hours. Drain, rinse very well, remove excess skin, this will scrape away very easily. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Prepare the grill. Take the octopus and cut the legs from the top, discard the top section and leave the legs whole.

Whisk together 1 cup of olive oil, the lemon juice and rigani in a shallow bowl. Season, add the octopus and turn to coat with the marinade. Set aside.

Heat a charcoal grill and throw on the rosemary leaves. Take the octopus pieces from the marinade and place on the grill for a few minutes on either side or until lightly browned, brushing once or twice with the marinade.

Place on a plate with lemon wedges and parsley, serve with a Greek salad.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.