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Recipe: Charred Octopus With Garlic, Chilli, Lemon And Olive Oil

Dec 17 12:00am

This Greek-inspired seafood recipe shows the best way to eat octopus is grilled.

PHOTOGRAPHY, STYLING & RECIPES ALASTAIR HENDY

Charred octopus with garlic, chilli, lemon and olive oil

2 octopuses (about 800g each), cleaned and thoroughly washed
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 teaspoons dried chilli flakes
1 large red onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped
3-4 lemons, halved, for chargrilling and to serve
rustic bread to serve

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil, add octopuses and gently simmer for 30-40 minutes or until they are just tender, then drain. When cool enough to handle, cut off and discard the octopuses' heads, divide tentacles into pairs of arms and place in a large bowl. Then add half of the oil, garlic and chilli flakes, season with sea salt and ground black pepper, and toss to combine. Cover and allow to marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, but no longer than 24 hours. Next, place remaining oil, garlic, chilli flakes, onion and parsley in a separate bowl, toss to combine, then set aside. Preheat a barbecue until coals are white-hot. Barbecue marinated octopus on a small-mesh grill rack (to prevent the tentacles falling through the bars), turning frequently and occasionally squeezing the juice of 1 lemon over, for 5 minutes
or until octopus begins to blister and caramelise all over. While still hot, place octopus in the prepared parsley mixture and toss to combine. Place octopus mix
on a serving platter and serve with bread and extra lemon halves. Serves 4.

Tip: Tenderise It

For a silken, tender result, boil octopus before marinating, then add wonderful smoky flavours by chargrilling over white-hot coals. Squeezing lemon juice over during cooking not only adds flavour and moisture, but is also handy for extinguishing any sudden flare-ups!

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