Here's a common sight along our coasts. Step one, you catch an octopus, or two. Here Signor Sergio proudly displays his catch of two good-sized specimens.
Step two, you soften it up by throwing it repeatedly against the rocks. Your serious octopus fisherman will have already killed it by biting it between the eyes.
Step three, you agitate it in a plastic bag with some sea water until it releases a lot of white foam and its tentacles curl up. Traditionally, this phase of the process was done in a wicker basket.
Step four, lunch is served. At this point, Signor Sergio kindly offered me a bite (which I declined!). Raw octopus is considered a real taste treat here, and you gotta admit it, you don't get your seafood any fresher than this! Animal lovers and vegetarians, please don't hate me...I'm not promoting this process, just documenting!
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7 comments:
I have had octopus before but never raw. Thanks for sharing the process, pretty cool.
I love octopus/squid but I'm not sure about raw (although I have eaten ceviche in Peru but that's "cooked" in lemon juice). I've seen a little of southern Italy (caught a ferry from Bari once) and have been to Sicily but would like to spend more time in the south. Unfortunately its so far from Australia and very expensive to get to.
oh my. that's quite a rigorous process to go through. I'm not sure I'd want raw octopus, but cooked, yes I could do that.
Thank you for your comment on my blog today.
A shame we didn't get the biting between the eyes moneyshot...a gal can dream ;)
It's easier to tenderize the little fellers by freezing them... at least that's been our experience.
Our friend who vacations every August in Puglia comes back sick to death of polipo. We didn't know one could ever tire of it!
Sushi! LOL!
You can also try fresh sea urchin — scooped right out of the shell. My cousin's diver friends got some for us once when we were at the beach together.
Ignore me — I do not like raw octopus or sea urchin. I do love tuna sashimi, however. ;)
I don't go for the sea urchin either, bleh! But, I could never get tired of octopus!
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