Greek•gourmet

Octopus With Ouzo

A Greek octopus recipe that's easy to make and tasty to eat.

Ingredients

Quantities are shown as originally provided.

1 medium octopus (sack and beak removed, and each tentacle cut (watch video above for guidance if needed))
½ cup olive oil
1 onion (chopped)
1 shallot (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (diced)
1 cup chopped tomatoes
½ cup ouzo (if you're not an ouzo lover, reduce amount)
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon oregano
½ cup kalamata olives (or Greek olive mix either cut in halves or whole - up to you)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup water*

1
Heat a soup pot over medium-high heat and add olive oil.
2
Once hot, add onion, shallots, and garlic. Cook until onions/shallots are soft, about 5 minutes.
3
Now, add octopus. Cover and reduce heat to low. Let octopus cook until soft and a little chewy, about 30 minutes. The octopus should expel a lot of water and shrink down in size. Don’t worry, this is good.
4
After about 30 minutes, add in tomatoes, ouzo, bay leaf, and oregano.
5
Cook slightly covered for another 35 minutes, or until octopus is tender.**
6
During last few minutes of cooking, add kalamata olives.
7
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Taste first, as it will be naturally salty from the octopus so adjust accordingly.
8
Serve!