Chilli-Marinated Octopus

Octopus is sold throughout the Mediterranean, but few of our fishmongers buy it from the market. It can be rubbery and impossibly tough, but this is entirely to do with how it is cooked. You must either cook it for ages or eat it almost raw. Cook moderately and you may as well put a steel-belted radial on the plate.

Here only the tentacles are served - and big ones, with a diameter of about 2.5 cm/1 in, are ideal. If you are lucky enough to have an Oriental fishmonger to hand, then