Octopus Cooked In White Wine Recipes

GREEK-STYLE OCTOPUS RECIPE (XTAPODI)

Steps:

• Into a large pan, add the tentacles of the octopus, along with the red wine vinegar, the wine and bay leaves and bring to the boil. Boil with the lid on, on medium low heat, for 40-60 minutes. Do not add any water, because the octopus, will shrink and emit enough water. Be careful not to add any salt, as the octopus is salty enough and not to over-boil it, because it will get mushy. When cooked nicely, the octopus should be crunchy.
• When done, remove the octopus from the pan and keep the juices into a bowl.
• Into a very hot pan, add the octopus, without the juices, and color nicely for 1 minute. This will allow the octopus to get crispy on the outside.
• Add the sliced onions and chopped tomatoes into the pan, along with 1-2 tbsps of olive oil and the garlic and stir. Let it cook for about 5 minutes, stirring every now and again, until the onions caramelize.
• Deglaze with the balsamic vinegar and wait for it to evaporate. Pour in the juices from boiling the octopus, that you kept aside, and 2 tbsps of honey. Season well with freshly ground pepper, sprinkle with some chopped pasley and cook for 3-5 minutes.
• Serve with some crusted bread and ouzo or tsipouro.

SPANISH OCTOPUS

Steps:

• Place chopped onion, garlic cloves, bay leaf, paprika, salt, and 1 tablespoon olive oil into saucepan. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until onions start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add white wine to create the braising liquid. Bring to a simmer.
• Transfer octopus into braising liquid, turning to coat with the liquid. Cover; reduce heat to low. Simmer 20 minutes and turn octopus over. Continue cooking until octopus is tender, another 40 to 45 minutes.
• Remove from heat; transfer octopus to a large bowl. Pour braising liquid over octopus. Place bowl above a bowl of ice water to cool to room temperature.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap when octopus and liquid are cool. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Transfer octopus to a work surface and mop off braising juices with paper towels; remove as much of the purple skin as you want. Cut octopus into 3 or 4 serving-size pieces. Brush with olive oil.
• Transfer braising liquid to saucepan. Bring to a boil; remove from heat. Strain out solids; transfer liquid to a mixing bowl; let cool about 10 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, parsley, salt, and cayenne pepper to make the serving sauce.
• Heat a grill pan or outdoor grill to high heat. Transfer octopus pieces to grill. Cook until flesh is seared, almost charred, 3 or 4 minutes. Turn and cook other side until dark brown, caramelized, and heated through, another 3 or 4 minutes. Transfer to a platter.
• Slice octopus into fairly thick diagonal slices. Place on a serving dish. Spoon braising liquid mixture over the top. Dust with a bit of cayenne pepper, if desired.

ITALIAN STEWED OCTOPUS (POLPI IN UMIDO)

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salty water to a boil. Toss the octopus into the boiling water , return to a boil and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove. Discard the water.
• Cut the octopus into large pieces and sauté in olive oil over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and sauté for another minute or two.
• Add the wine and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir well and let it cook down for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and chili flakes and bring to a simmer.
• Add about a teaspoon of salt and the honey or sugar. Mix well, cover the pot and simmer for 30 minutes.
• At 30 minutes, add the optional capers, half the dill, and half the parsley. Check the octopus-sometimes small ones will be tender in just 30 minutes.
• If it is still super-chewy, cover the pot again and simmer for up to another 45 minutes.
• When you think you are about 10 minutes away from the octopus being done, uncover the pot and turn the heat up a little to cook down the sauce.
• To serve, add the remaining dill and parsley and black pepper to taste.
• Accompany with bread or pasta either hot or at room temperature. A crisp white wine like Spanish Albarino, Italian Orvieto or pinot grigio makes a good pairing for this interesting seafood meal.

GRILLED OCTOPUS IN RED WINE MARINADE

Steps:

• In a large casserole combine octopus, carrots, celery, onion, bay leaves, salt, pepper, thyme, red wine and water. Bring to a slow boil and simmer 45 minutes, or until octopus is very tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from heat and let octopus cool in its broth.
• Set aside 1 1/3 cups of broth for sauce. When octopus is cool enough to handle, remove it from broth and rub it well to remove purplish skin. Rinse tentacles in broth as they are cleaned. Drain octopus and transfer to a large bowl.
• Make marinade: in a small bowl combine marinade ingredients. Pour over octopus and toss to coat. Marinate, covered and refrigerated, for at least 24 hours, and up to 3 days.
• Make sauce: in a small saucepan combine strained reserved broth, olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar. Reduce by half over high heat. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Stir in parsley. Keep warm.
• Prepare a charcoal broiler. Drain tentacles and pat dry. Grill 4 minutes, turning frequently, until lightly charred and heated through. Serve 2 tentacles per person, with sauce spooned over, garnished with parsley and lemon wedges.

BRAISED OCTOPUS

Steps:

• Set the saucepan over low heat. Pour in 6 tablespoons of the olive oil. Scatter the onion in the bottom of the pan and add the garlic. Nestle the octopus on top of the onions. Scatter the olives over the octopus. Cover and let the octopus stew in its own juices for 1 hour.
• Uncover the octopus, there should be a lot of liquid from the octopus in the pan. Cover and continue to stew over low heat until the octopus is very tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes more, depending on the size of the octopus. To test for doneness, stick a fork in the thickest part of the octopus, it is done if the fork slides out easily.
• Remove the octopus from the pot and let cool slightly. Cut the octopus into 3/4-inch chunks, skin and all. Put the octopus chunks in the skillet and pour in the contents of the saucepan as well. Taste the sauce for salt (the octopus can be very salty) and add the salt, if needed. Get the sauce simmering rapidly over medium heat and stir in the parsley. You should have 2 cups or so of braising juices in the skillet. If there's much more than that, boil to reduce the sauce

OCTOPUS COOKED IN WHITE WINE

Steps:

• Octopus is usually sold cleaned and tenderized. But here is how you clean it if you have to do it yourself: Cut partway through the muscle which unites the tentacles to the inside of the head and discard all the contents of the head cavity. This involves pulling or cutting out the ink sac, the hard oval "beak," and the gelatinous innards. Turn the head inside out and wash well under running water. Squeeze or cut out the eyes and any cartilage. Remove any scales which may be left on the suckers and wash the octopus thoroughly.
• Blanch the octopus for 5 minutes in boiling water, then drain. Put it in a saucepan with the wine, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper, and just enough water to cover. Simmer over very low heat for about 1-1 1/2 hours, until tender, adding water to keep it covered. Lift out the octopus and reduce the sauce.
• Cut the octopus into 1-inch slices, and mix with the sauce and the olive oil.
• Serve cold, sprinkled with parsley.