Greek-style barbecued octopus with fetta and pickled cucumber
SERVES 6 AS A MAIN OR 12 AS PART OF A SHARED TABLE PREP AND COOK TIME 30 MINUTES (+ STANDING AND MARINATING TIME)
1.5kg baby octopus (see Julie’s tip) 3 (250g) ripe kiwifruit
1 lemon
4 cloves garlic, chopped finely 2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves ⅓ cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil 1 cup (250ml) white vinegar 2 tablespoons caster sugar 2 teaspoons sea salt flakes
3 (400g) Lebanese cucumbers
200g grape tomatoes, halved
1 small (100g) red onion, sliced thinly ⅔ cup (90g) pitted Kalamata olives 150g Greek fetta, crumbled
⅓ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 To clean octopus, cut across the head, under the eyes to separate the tentacles from the head. Cut above the eyes; discard. Clean out the head; remove the dark skin. Remove beak from centre of tentacles. Rinse; pat dry. Peel and mash the kiwifruit; toss through the octopus in a large bowl. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Rinse the octopus and pat dry.
2 Grate the rind from the lemon; cut lemon into wedges. In a large bowl, combine the garlic, oregano, lemon rind, oil and octopus; refrigerate for 1 hour
(or overnight if you can).
3 In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar, sugar and salt to the boil. Remove from heat. Halve the cucumbers lengthways; scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon. Cut into 5mm slices; place in a small
heatproof bowl. Pour over the vinegar mixture; stand for at least 1 hour.
Preheat an oiled barbecue grill on high. Barbecue th octopus for 4 minutes, turning once, or until slightly charred and cooked.
In a serving bowl, arrange the pickled cucumber, tomato, onion and olives. Scatter with the fetta. Top with octopus; drizzle with a little extra oil and scatter with parsley. Serve with lemon wedges. Not suitable to freeze or microwave.