One of my favorite finger foods - not french fries, not chips, not any of that.
Baby octopus!
These cephalopods that belong to a family of mollusks and for whatever reason seem to be not as popular here in the US as it is throughout Europe. The trick is to either cook them for a very short time - I'm talking just a few minutes to very long. There's not in between with these - you can't wake up decide to cook them for 15 minutes, just because.
You'll end up with bits of tough, rubbery octopus, that's why!
This very quick way of enjoying these are popular all throughout Greece and Italy and doesn't even warrant a recipe. Because the concept is simple as 1-2-3. The octopus is marinated with lots of lemon juice, olive oil and fresh oregano for 2 hours. No short cuts here.
And then quickly thrown on the grill or broiled in the oven until then curl which takes 4-1/2 minutes exactly and then you pop then out of the oven and eat. With fingers. Just so.
The lemon juice is key. It is acidic in nature and the citric acid works on the proteins at a molecular level (no kidding!) and thus breaking down the connective tissue resulting in 'poppable' little octopus eats.
I love the lemony and slightly chewy texture of the meat and the scent of the herbs. I don't know about you, but they are so healthy and yummy that these are one kind of treats without the guilt fix.
And that, I can do more of!
Gather the ingredients,
1 lb raw baby octopus, 2-3 sprigs rosemary, 1/4 oregano leaves, packed, 1 tbs chopped garlic, Juice of 2 lemons, 3 tbs olive oil, 1 tsp salt & Bamboo skewers
Bamboo skewers & Rosemary: Soak in water for at least 1 hour along with the rosemary sprigs
Oregano leaves: Chop and set aside.
Marinade: In a bowl whisk together the garlic, olive oil, oregano leaves and salt.
Marinate the octopus for 2 hours (do not reduce marinating time)
Octopus: Cut away the head just below eyes. Remove the beak and cut tentacles in 2 halves (each ½ should have 4 tentacles)
Preheat the oven to broil.
Skewer 3-4 octopus per skewer depending on the length of the skewer- do not overcrowd. Repeat until all the octopus are on skewers.
Place on a baking/jelly roll pan or roasting pan along with rosemary sprigs on the baking pan.
Broil for 4-1/2 minutes precisely just until the octopus have turned opaque and have curled.
Serve immediately.
Recipe for
Lemon & Oregano Grilled Baby Octopus
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Marinating time: 2 hours
Grilling time: 4-1/2 minutes
Appetizer sized servings: 4
Shopping list
1 lb raw baby octopus
2-3 sprigs rosemary
1/4 oregano leaves, packed
1 tbs chopped garlic
Juice of 2 lemons
3 tbs olive oil
1 tsp salt
Bamboo skewers
Preparation:
Bamboo skewers & Rosemary: Soak in water for at least 1 hour along with the rosemary sprigs
Octopus: Cut off head just below eyes. Remove the beak and cut tentacles in 2 halves (each ½ should have 4 tentacles)
Oregano leaves: Chop and set aside.
Marinade: In a bowl whisk together the garlic, olive oil, oregano leaves and salt.
Marinate the octopus for 2 hours (do not reduce marinating time)
Preheat the oven to broil.
Skewer 3-4 octopus per skewer depending on the length of the skewer- do not overcrowd. Repeat until all the octopus are on skewers.
Place on a baking/jelly roll pan or roasting pan along with rosemary sprigs on the baking pan.
Broil for 4-1/2 minutes precisely just until the octopus have turned opaque and have curled.
Serve immediately.
Enjoy!