Home cooks pickle octopus

Ingredients:

1 dozen precooked baby octopi

6 bay leaves

1 dried or fresh hot chile pepper

1 dozen cracked black peppercorns

1 T. dried oregano

1 T. coriander seed

2 cups red wine vinegar

Olive oil to top off the jar

1 clean, quart-sized canning jar with lid

Preparation:

This is an easy dish to make, once you have cooked the octopus. Instructions for that are linked below. Once you have the cooked octopi -- and they need not be baby ones, although I like the baby ones best because they are more tender -- all you do is set them in a quart-sized canning jar to rest while you make the pickling brine.

In a dry saute pan, toast the coriander and the dried chile (do not do this with the fresh chile if you're going that route) and the black pepper over medium-high heat until everything is fragrant.

Shift all the spices, including the oregano, the bay leaves and the fresh chile if using, into a pot large enough to contain the vinegar. Pour the vinegar over the spices and bring to a boil.

Once the vinegar is at a boil, turn off the heat and cover. Let it steep until it's room temperature, about an hour or so. Then pour it over the octopi in the jar. Make sure it covers them all; use fresh red wine vinegar if you need more.

Top everything off with olive oil -- do not let any part of the octopus stick through the top of the oil, or it will rot.

Store in the fridge for up to 3 months.

Wait at least a week before you eat them. They are fantastic with crusty bread and hard liquor or beer, especially on a hot day. This pickled octopus recipe is a classic way to make an authentic Greek meze, Italian antipasto or Spanish tapas. It is best done with pre-cooked octopus, or they will be very, very chewy.