Tunisian Grilled Dried Octopus with Tomatoes and Green Olives

If you’ve seen octopus drying on clothes lines in Greece, Spain, and Tunisia and wondered what they do with it, here’s a recipe for an appetizer from the island of Kerkennah off the coast of Tunisia that uses dried octopus to good effect.

You can buy dried octopus at Asian markets. Be sure to begin soaking it a day in advance. The baking soda not only eliminates the strong odor, it also tenderizes and whitens the flesh.