Octopus is one of the most underrated of seafoods and many people shun from giving it a try in the kitchen as they are unsure as to have to prepare it. The best advice I received when travelling in and around Greece was to slow cook it, as this renders the octopus into a tender fleshy-textured delight. This is a very simple dish and if you cannot get clams, then you can use mussels, which work just as well. The red wine is the real winner here as it gives a real depth of favour and gives the octopus a wonderful deep red colour. I sometime add a little chilli if I want a ‘kick’ but the dish works so well with just the garlic and dill that you don’t really need anything more. You can use frozen peas here but you will need to allow a couple of minutes extra cooking.This recipe will serve 6 but again, I will sometimes prepare this as part of a tapas. Make sure you have some warm crusty bread to soak up the juices.
Octopus braised in red wine with clams and peas
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2.2kg octopus tentacles, cut into 3cm lengths
400g canned whole peeled tomatoes
150ml red wine
2kg claims (surf or vongole), purged
750g unpadded peas
2 tablespoons chopped dill
