Octopus cooked in wine

Octopus cooked in wine (Μαγειρεύω Κυπριακά 2015).

Octopus cooked in wine (Μαγειρεύω Κυπριακά 2015).

© Cyprus Food Museum

Octopus cooked in wine (Μαγειρεύω Κυπριακά 2015).

A beloved dish during fasting periods — and not only! Its distinctive wine sauce is enriched with the aromas of cinnamon, bay leaf, and dried coriander. This recipe originates from Paphos.

Name - Recipe
Cypriot name of dish
Χταπόδι καθιστό/κρασάτο - xtapodi kathisto/krasato
Greek name - description

Χταπόδι καθιστό/κρασάτο.

Ingredients

1 kg tenderized octopus
½ glass dry white wine
1 glass dry red wine
½ glass olive oil
1 onion
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
Dried coriander
Pepper

Method

Boil the octopus with the white wine for 30 minutes in a covered pot.
Slice the onion into thin pieces and sauté it lightly in another pot.
Cut the octopus into small pieces and add it to the onion.
Stir and add the bay leaf, cinnamon, coriander, and pepper.
Let the dish simmer until the liquids evaporate and a fairly thick sauce forms.
(Rigina Damianou, Cooking Cypriot, 2012–2013).

Cooking method

Boiling.
Sautéing.
Stovetop cooking (pot cooking).

Comments

It can be served with pourgouri (bulgur pilaf). (Rigina Damianou, Cooking Cypriot, 2012–2013)

Time period
19th-21th century.
Βibliography

Documentation:
Rigina Damianou (13 years old, student at Olympion Gymnasium–Lyceum), based on the narration of Ioanna Sofokleous (58 years old, Lakatamia). See: Museum of Cypriot Food and Nutrition (2014). Cooking Cypriot 2012–2013 (ed. Petroula Chatzittofi), unpublished material.

Researcher / Recorder

Petroula Chatzittofi