I am an octopus fan. I chewed tentacles in Greece, I chewed in Italy, I chewed in Spain, I chewed in Portugal, I did not deny myself a cephalopod in New York, I did not regret the octopus banknote in Warsaw, although in the last two cities it was the thickest banknote. I also like to make my own octopus, although I rarely do it - it has become increasingly difficult to buy it recently (and yet she used to visit an ordinary housing estate Carefour Express) - especially an adult, mature art - octopus baby is easier to acquire. Today I hunted half a pet in a shop on Wiktorska Street in Warsaw, the guy has more seafood selection than some greengrocers have orchard fruit variety. Pricey, unfortunately: a kilogram of bound octopus costs over a hundred, and the octopus shrinks a lot, a kilogram for two hungry or three less hungry people is just right.
Unless we have to make a cephalopod ourselves, which is a bit like appearing in amateur fan fiction from the series "Strangers", preparing grilled octopus is very easy. It's harder to bake a chicken well. We put the animal in the pot, we throw in a bay leaf, crushed garlic, some herb (I used cilantro), cover with a lid and put on the gauze. The octopus is self-sufficient - it will release its own juice after a while, in which it will then be cooked. We can add some water, but it's not really necessary.
Po 45 we look at it, we check if the meat is soft (at its thickest point, at the base of the legs), sticking a fork in them. An hour of cooking is usually sufficient, sometimes it takes longer. Then we take it out, we drain, we wipe with a paper towel, Lightly pour olive oil with lemon and put it under the toaster in the oven, as close to the sandwich maker as possible. You can try to grill in a grill pan, but it is a more difficult option, because the grill pan requires the food to stick to it. And the octopus doesn't want to cling. When the meat is browned (is already cooked, it's just about browning), we pour the rest of the olive oil mixed with lemon over them, we sprinkle and chew. This chew is a joke: a well-cooked octopus is no chewing.
Which goes well with the octopus? Potatoes. Potatoes match octopus in a unique way. And wine. For grilled: White (because, for example, for octopus in tomato sauce, light, the snappy red is your best companion). Mineral wines, salty, little fruity, with not exaggerated acidity work best. Asyrtiko is very much by the way. But also good verde, albariño or alvarinho. Maybe godello would suit? First, I reached for an albariño and met a cruel disappointment. The wine was bad. Not good in the sense of "tasteless", but not good in the sense of "call an ambulance"! It seems to me, that the bottle was poorly rinsed after washing it on the bottling line (and the fluid, which is used to wash the bottles from the inside is a caustic chemical based on lyes and other poisons). In such a situation, a refrigerator with a wine shelf comes in handy - I have one and I highly appreciate this invention.
I chose Feudi di San Gregorio, Cutizzi, Greco di Tufo, Campania 2011, bought for a dozen or so euros at the airport in Rome. Wine, which got a high rating in Decantera, I do not agree with this assessment. Bouquet, which was supposed to be "vital and invigorating”Was almost absent, until I got scared, it's another spoiled wine, this time cork. But probably not, that's just what this type is. The mouth lacked "fantastic acidity”. But that's okay after that, good concentration, slight bitterness, long finish. You drank well with the octopus. ♥♥♥-
