Octopus Recipes

Last night, my friend told me that she wanted to taste an octopus recipe in a fancy French restaurant at the mall. She was obviously craving for octopus. Since I owed her something, I decided to cook for her a simple octopus dish called Chili Lemon Octopus that I've learned from watching Food Network. I'm sure she's going to love it because it's delicious and rich with different flavors. In fact, I want to surprise her by cooking this recipe and taking her to the park this Saturday afternoon.

Ingredients

2 kg baby octopus
1 tablespoon fresh lemon rind, grated
3/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons hot chili sauce
4 gloves of garlic crushed


The first thing you have to do is remove the beaks and heads of the octopus. Then cut them in half. In a large bowl, put together the octopus, juice, garlic, oil, and rind. Marinade it for three hours or more by covering it and putting it inside the refrigerator. Next you have to remove the octopus from it's marinade by draining it. After that, cook the octopus in a skillet until it's tender. After this you are now ready to serve the delicious seafood dish.

The secret to a mouth-watering (and highly digestible) octopus dish is the length of its cooking time. The meat of octopus is not really tender enough for chewing, so we have to allow more time to cook them overlow heat, simmer, and then cook for more until they become soft enough to the the bite. Also, the octopus, since it comes from the sea, has a strange fishy smell, so it must be rinsed well. If you read the Sopranos Cookbook, you probably have a fair idea of how Polipetti recipe is whipped up. It's a Neopolitan sea dish known for its tangy taste.

2 lbs of baby octopus or about 6 pcs
2 cups of tomatoes peeled, chopped
1/4 cp of olive oil
1/4 cp of parsley, flat leaf, chopped
2 pcs chopped cloves garlic, large
red pepper
salt
6-12 friselle (also slices of Italian bread, toasted)

Polipetti in Italian means many little tentacles - which we cannot eat unless we remove the beaks on the end of each of them. First, combine all the main ingredients: the baby octopus, the tomatoes, oil, parsley, garlic, the pinched red pepper, with some salt to add flavor. As soon as the sauce comes to a boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for about 45 minutes. Stir this polipetti sauce mixture occasionally. Then, remove the cover and let it simmer again for another 15 minutes. Pierce it with a fork or knife to see if the octopus meat is tender enough or if the polipetti sauce is already thick. Place the cooked sauce on the softened friselle on six plates. Top the Polipetti dish with the baby octopus sauce and a pinch of parsley.

It has been a while since I had a new octopus recipe. Lately I had a difficulty finding them in the market, until my sister ask me to help her in preparing this recipe that she served on a special dinner.

2 pounds baby octopus -- 20-30 pieces
1 orange -- juiced & zested
2 tablespoons almonds -- toasted
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil -- plus 3 T
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
4 bamboo skewers -- soaked in water
1/4 cup fennel leaves -- roughly chopped
2 cups baby beet tops, washed, dried -- chiffonade
Sea salt

First, preheat the barbecue grill smoker.
Place octopus in 4 quarts cool water and add 1 wine cork, bring to boil and lower heat to low boil and cook for 25 minutes until tender then drain and rinse and allow to cool. In a mixing bowl, stir together almonds, orange zest, 2 tablespoons olive oil, fennel leaves, and crushed red pepper. Next, add cooled octopus and let it stand for 25 minutes until coals are hot and ready. Thread the octopus evenly on to 4 skewers and place over coals and cook until crispy and slightly charred, about 5 minutes per side. While waiting, toss beet greens with orange juice and remaining oil and season with sea salt. Then divide greens among 4 plates and place one speidini over each pile and drizzle with remaining marinade then make 4 servings.

They may just look creepy alive in the waters, but when they are served, octopus can be one of the best dishes you have ever tried. A friend of mine who works as a chef shared this recipe to me. He knows I love salad very much, but for me he gave it a little twist. He wanted me to try the "exotic" side. Hence, the Baby Octopus Salad.



2 1/2 lb baby octoposes (cleaned)

You can substitute the baby octopuses with a 2 1/2-lb regular octopus, though the texture will not be as delicate. Just discard head of regular octopus, then cut body and tentacles into 2-inch pieces; follow baby-octopus cooking procedure, but simmer about 1 1/2 hours rather than 45 minutes

1/2 cup of bay leaf
1/3 cup of oil (preferably olive)
2 tbsp juice (lemon juice)
1 tsp sea salt (preferably Sicilian)
1/2 tsp of pepper (black)
1 tbsp oregano (must be chopped)

Rinse octopuses under cold water, then cover with water by two inches in a five to six quart heavy pot. Bring to a boil with bay leaf, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until octopuses are tender (tentacles can easily be pierced with a fork), about 45 minutes.

Next, transfer the octopuses to a colander with tongs, then discard cooking liquid and bay leaf. When cool enough to handle cut off with a very big knife and discard heads and halve octopuses lengthwise, then cool it to room temperature.

Finally, whisk together oil, lemon juice, sea salt, pepper, and oregano. Toss octopuses serving with dressing and marinate, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes at room temperature.

Makes up to 10 servings (as part of antipasti).

If the earth never had dry lands, the most dominant species would be the octopus. Based on scientific studies, the octopus exhibits intellectual insights in problem solving well beyond basic animal instinct. The octopus is classified as a cephalopod or belonging to the mollusk class, which include oysters and clams. Cephalopod literally means head-foot. The 289 species of octopus is classified under the order Octopoda that inhabits the diverse regions of the ocean. Octopuses are commonly found in coral reefs. They are distinctive because of their eight tentacles; hence, the name octopus. Octopuses have almost entirely soft bodies without exoskeleton or endoskeleton like other cephalopods with shells. The only hard part of an octopus is its beak, which is very similar to that of a parrot.

Although squids are more popular in the gourmet food menus of most restaurants, there are still some delectable recipes you can prepare using octopus. Octopus is a seafood favorite of Japanese. Octopus has healthy nutritional value comparable to other seafood. Octopus in Red Wine can be prepared using the following ingredients: 1 kg young octopus, 8 tbsp olive oil, 350 g small onions, 150 ml red wine, 6 tbsp red wine vinegar, 225 g chopped tomatoes, 2 tbsp tomato puree, 4 bay leaves, 2 tsp dried oregano, black pepper and 2 tbsp chopped parsley. Clean and chop the octopus. Cook the octopus in oil with the onion. Add other ingredients. Simmer gently for about an hour. Let the sauce thicken. Serve with rice and a salad.

Who would have thought that such a complex-looking creature as the octopus could be easily turned into a mouth-watering dish? (Emphasis on the word “easily”, mind you.) Well, read on.

Clean 2 kg of baby octopus, remove the heads and beaks, and then cut in halves. For the marinade: in a bowl, combine the octopus, a tbsp of lemon zest, 3/4 cup lemon juice, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp hot chili sauce, and some crushed garlic. For best results, refrigerate overnight. Then, it's all just a matter of cooking the octopuses in a skillet or a grill until they're tender and just about right.

Now, this is one recipe you can’t possibly tangle your hands on.

This is an Italian recipe I picked up from my travels to that beautiful land.

For this recipe, you'll need: Octopus (although you can use squid or cuttlefish), fresh mint, sliced garlic and red wine vinegar.

First, you have to boil the octopus. Once they're nice and tender, drain and pat them dry. Place them in a glass jar, interlaying them with the mint and garlic. Cover them with vinegar, and shake to remove whatever bubbles may form. Cover the jar and store in a cool dark place.

After a week, they'll be ready to eat, and they'll still be edible for another two weeks after.

These round snacks are a favorite in many places in Japan, and after tasting one, it's not hard to see why. Grilled in distinctive takoyaki grill pans, these batter covered-octopus delicacies are a seafood delight!

To make these balls, the batter (made of stock soup and eggs) is mixed to the consistency of thick soup, and is placed in the cups of the takoyaki grill pan to the full. Then, you add the filling (made up of octopus chunks, some shrimp and spices such as red pepper and green onions) into the batter-filled cups, and grill. When the batter gets a rounded shape, turn it over with a pick so that it gets evenly cooked. Once the balls are a good golden brown, remove and serve with mayonnaise and Worcestershire sauce and sprinkle some dried seaweed and bonito flakes on top. Yum!

Cooking octopus is a tricky task. It can go from tender to rubbery to tender again while you boil it, and often without you realizing that it has gone through the phases. Octopus will turn out tender for the first few minutes of boiling, so unless you've got excellent timing, you either wind up with too-raw octopus or a rubbery mollusk too tough to eat properly.

Here's a trick to ensure that you get tender octopus every time you boil.

First, clean your octopus. Then set three pots of water to boil, each with a cork inside. Bring them to a boil, and drop the octopus into one, wait for it to stop boiling, then transfer it to the next one, then wait for it to stop boiling. Transfer the octopus to the third one, and wait for the boiling to subside, and then return it to the first pot, which should be boiling again. Boil the octopus for 20 minutes here, and now you've got some tender meat that should almost melt in your mouth!

I've always been fascinated with the octopus, both as a living creature and as a dish. Today I'll share with you a fairly easy recipe for Fried Octopus.

You'll need:
1 kilogram Octopus
one-fourth cup milk
three eggs
cooking oil (for frying)
parsley
salt and pepper (to taste)

Boil the octopus first, so that the meat is tender and not so tough, and drain. Chop this critter into manageable chunks, and set aside. Beat the eggs, adding the rest of the ingredients as you do. Coat the octopus in the resulting mixture, then fry. Be careful not to cook the octopus too much. Cook until golden brown, and serve! This goes well with cocktails as a finger food and conversation piece!