Greek Marinated Octopus Recipe

Whole cooked octopus drizzled with olive oil and dried oregano.

5 from 2 votes

Tender Greek marinated octopus simmered with white wine, olive oil, and white wine vinegar. A surprisingly easy high protein and delicious Greek appetizer!

Prep Time10

Cook Time45

Additional Time15

Total Time1 10

Course: Appetizers

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: healthy, octopus, seafood

Servings: servings

Calories: 332kcal

Author: Ria Mavrikos

Ingredients

Octopus fresh or thawed - roughly 2 pounds
1 cup sweet white wine Riesling or another white wine
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil to cook with the octopus
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
5 black peppercorns adjust to taste
3-5 bay leaves
pinch of salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil to drizzle on the cooked octopus - adjust to taste
Dried oregano optional

Instructions

Rinse the octopus and hood (flip it inside out) really well with cold water. Use a sharp knife and remove the mouth (beak), ink sac or eyes, or any insides from the hood of the octopus. Rinse the octopus and hood again with cold water and place the octopus hood down in a large pot.
Add in the white wine, olive oil, white wine vinegar, peppercorns and bay leaves. Bring the liquid to a boil under high heat and then cover the pot and lower the heat. Simmer the octopus covered on low heat for about 40-45 minutes or until the octopus is tender and easily pierced with a fork.
Remove the octopus from the pot and place it on a large plate or cutting board. Allow the octopus to cool for a few minutes so that it's easier to handle. Sprinkle the octopus with some salt, dried oregano, and olive oil. Cut the octopus into about 2" pieces. Transfer the cut octopus to a glass jar or glass container. You can either store the octopus in olive oil or use the marinade from the pot. If you're going to pour the liquid from the pot over the octopus, wait until the liquid is cool. Either way, cover the jar with a tight-fitting lid Store in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.

Notes

The octopus shrinks as it cooks and releases a bit of froth as it cooks. You don't need to add water to the pot since the octopus will release its own juices.
The cooking time will vary slightly based on how large your octopus is. For a roughly two-pound octopus, I simmered the octopus on low-medium heat for 40-45 minutes for tender octopus. If you overcook the octopus, it will become mushy instead of tender. As soon as you can pierce the octopus easily with a fork, then it's done.
When serving, I like to only drizzle the octopus with olive oil, dried oregano and a pinch of salt.
Storing the cooked octopus pieces in its marinade will allow the octopus to last longer in the fridge, but I find it has a lot of gelatin since it releases gelatin as it cooks. Therefore, I like storing the cooked octopus in olive oil in the fridge. The olive oil will solidify and harden slightly in the fridge, so you'll need to allow the octopus to come to room temperature before serving. Drizzle with a little more fresh olive oil and dried oregano before serving.

Nutrition