Name: Octopus & pasta bake
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 5 cm/2 in piece of cinnamon stick; 225 g/8 oz/2 cups dried penne or small macaroni-type pasta; 150 ml/¼ pint/⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil; 2 large onions, sliced; 3 garlic cloves, chopped; 1 fresh red or green chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced; 30 ml/2 tbsp tomato paste diluted in 300 ml/½ pint/1¼ cups warm water; 300 ml/½ pint/1¼ cups boiling water, if needed; 175 ml/6 fl oz/¾ cup red wine; 45 ml/3 tbsp finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, to garnish (optional); 2–3 whole allspice (optional); 2 octopuses, total weight about 675–800 g/1½–1¾ lb, cleaned; 5 ml/1 tsp dried oregano; 1–2 bay leaves; ground black pepper

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Food & Cooking of Greece

By Rena Salaman

Published 2023

About

Htapothi me makaronaki is a slow-cooked combination of octopus and pasta in a spicy tomato sauce, and is quite an everyday affair in Greece although when we make it for our English friends it causes a sensation. It is just a simple fisherman’s dish, which could also be made with cuttlefish instead.

Ingredients

2 octopuses, total weight about 675–800 g/1½–1¾ lb, cleaned
150 ml

Method

Rinse the octopuses well, making sure that there is no sand left in the suckers. Cut them into large cubes and place the pieces in a heavy pan over a low heat. Cook gently; they will produce some liquid, the colour of the flesh will change and they will eventually become bright scarlet. Keep turning the pieces of octupus with a wooden spatula until all the liquid has evaporated.

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