2 1/4 lb young octopus
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
4 garlic clove
1 salt, to taste
1 black pepper, to taste
1 tsp dried thyme
1 lemon wedges, to serve
Directions
Prepare and wash the octopus (as in Octopus in Red Wine). Place the
head and tentacles in a pan with 6-8tbsp water, cover and simmer for
60 to 75 minutes until it is tender. Test it with a skewer. Drain off
any remaining liquid and set aside to cool.
Cut the flesh into 1/2" strips and pack them loosely into a
screw-topped jar. Mix enough oil and vinegar to fill the jar - the
exact amount will depend on the relative volumes of the seafood and
the container - stir in the garlic and season with salt and pepper.
If you are using dried thyme, mix it with the liquid at this stage.
Pour it over the octopus, making sure that every last piece is
completely immersed. If you are using thyme stalks, push them into
the jar.
Cover the jar and set it aside for at least 4-5 days before using. To
serve, drain the octopus and serve it on small individual plates or
saucers with the lemon wedges.
Cubes of at least one-day old bread, speared on cocktail sticks, are
the usual accompaniment.
A Taste Of The Greek Islands by Pamela Westland found on
rec.food.recipes Stephanie da Silva (arielle@taronga.com), moderator
Servings: 8 servings
Oktapodi Toursi (Pickled Octopus) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Seafood
The History of Recipes
Food historians have traced the existance of recipes back into history, in fact as far back into recorded history as early Egypt, and quite possibly further than that. In practice though, mostly, these early cookbooks were just simple hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for food preparation.
Interestingly, the most ancient recipe found, according to Professor Solomon Katz, are some ancient tablets in Sumerian which show the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who drank it feel exhilarated and blissful. As our culinary historical trip moves on a few more years there are a couple of books which appeared in the fourteenth century : a recipe book titled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary named `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are a little misleading though, these are not about the curry that is served today, but rather descriptions of the types of food on the menus of the upper classes of those days. During the succeeding few hundred years, the wealthy families of Wesstern Europe strove to serve the most extravagent meals, and as a result the best chefs and their collection of recipes were highly sought after. Notwithstanding that, it wasn`t until the nineteenth century that formal cookery and recipe publications really came of age. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Farmer in the US, dedicated years of their lives to collecting, trying out, and publishing recipes to allow everyone to enjoy them. By the arrival of the twentieth century, cookery books were in great demand, due to more people being able to read, people having more free time and having more money to spend. |
We hope you enjoy this Oktapodi Toursi (Pickled Octopus) recipe.
