Chef Dimitra
Aegean Island Chtapodi me Kritharaki (Χταπόδι με Κριθαράκι)
Aegean island octopus, tomato, red wine, and toasted kritharaki share one pot, so the pasta drinks the briny sauce and stays glossy instead of turning heavy.
Culinary Explorer
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Cycladic Chtapodi Krasato (Χταπόδι Κρασάτο)
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Cycladic chtapodi krasato is octopus cooked first in its own liquor, then slowly braised with red wine, bay, vinegar, and olive oil until the sauce turns dark and clings.
Main Dishes
Greek
Comfort Food
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
20 min
Active Time
1 hr 15 min cook•1 hr 35 min total
Yield4 servings as a main, 6 as a meze
Cycladic chtapodi krasato is octopus braised in red wine until the sauce goes dark, glossy, and almost syrupy. On the islands it belongs beside bread and a small glass, the kind of dish that looks modest until you taste how much sea, wine, and patience can do.
Wine-braised octopus belongs to the Aegean islands, where octopus was traditionally dried briefly in the sun and wind before being cooked, a practice that concentrated flavor and helped tenderize the flesh. In the Orthodox fasting calendar, octopus and other bloodless sea foods could appear on nistisima tables, especially on days when wine and oil were permitted. The Cycladic version keeps the seasoning spare: red wine, bay, vinegar, onion, olive oil, and the octopus's own liquor.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
cleaned octopus (chtapodi)
Quantity
1.2kg
fresh or fully thawed
yellow onion
Quantity
120g
finely sliced
garlic cloves
Quantity
3
lightly crushed
extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil
Quantity
80ml
dry red wine
Quantity
250ml
red wine vinegar
Quantity
30ml
bay leaves
Quantity
2
small cinnamon stick (optional)
Quantity
1
tomato paste
Quantity
1 teaspoon
black peppercorns
Quantity
1 teaspoon
lightly cracked
dried Greek oregano
Quantity
1 teaspoon
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
1 tablespoon
chopped, for finishing
lemon wedges (optional)
Quantity
as needed
for serving
sea salt
Quantity
as needed
only at the end
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| cleaned octopus (chtapodi)fresh or fully thawed | 1.2kg |
| yellow onionfinely sliced | 120g |
| garlic cloveslightly crushed | 3 |
| extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil | 80ml |
| dry red wine | 250ml |
| red wine vinegar | 30ml |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| small cinnamon stick (optional) | 1 |
| tomato paste | 1 teaspoon |
| black peppercornslightly cracked | 1 teaspoon |
| dried Greek oregano | 1 teaspoon |
| flat-leaf parsleychopped, for finishing | 1 tablespoon |
| lemon wedges (optional)for serving | as needed |
| sea saltonly at the end | as needed |
Equipment Needed
- •heavy lidded braising pot, 24cm
- •sharp kitchen shears or sturdy knife for portioning octopus
- •wooden spoon
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the octopus
Rinse the octopus well and check the head cavity for any grit. Cut the tentacles apart and slice the head into large pieces. Pat it dry. Don't salt it now. Octopus carries its own salt, and the sauce will reduce.
- 2
Cook it dry
Put the octopus in a heavy pot with no water, no oil, and no wine. Cover and set over medium-low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once or twice, until it releases a purple-red liquor and the pieces begin to firm. This is the step that decides the dish. If you add water first, you dilute the sea out of it. Let the octopus give you its own cooking liquid, then build the wine sauce from there.
Keep the heat gentle. A hard boil tightens octopus before it has time to soften. - 3
Start the sauce
Lift the octopus to a plate and keep every drop of liquid in the pot. Add the olive oil and sliced onion to that same pot. Cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onion softens and takes on the color of the octopus liquor. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste for 1 minute.
- 4
Braise with wine
Return the octopus to the pot. Add the red wine, vinegar, bay leaves, cinnamon if using, and cracked peppercorns. Bring to a quiet bubble, then cover and cook over low heat for 35 to 45 minutes, until a knife slips into the thickest part of a tentacle with only a little resistance.
- 5
Reduce the glaze
Uncover the pot and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes more, turning the octopus now and then, until the sauce is dark, glossy, and thick enough to coat a spoon. Pull out the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Taste before salting. Often it needs none.
- 6
Finish and serve
Cut the tentacles into generous pieces or leave them whole for the table. Sprinkle with oregano and parsley, then spoon the wine sauce over everything. Serve warm or at room temperature with country bread, fried potatoes, rice, or plain chickpeas if the table is fasting. Good olive oil, and patience. That is all it asks.
Chef Tips
- •Fresh octopus is good, but a frozen and thawed octopus is often kinder to the home cook. Freezing helps relax the flesh. The old island beating on the rocks had the same purpose, only louder.
- •Choose a dry red wine you would drink with food, not a sweet one. The sauce reduces hard, so a bad wine becomes more itself, not less.
- •This dish keeps beautifully. Chill it in its sauce for up to 2 days, then bring it back gently over low heat or serve it at room temperature as a meze. The flavor deepens overnight.
- •For a nistisimo table, serve it with bread, olives, boiled greens, or chickpeas. Octopus has always sat naturally in the fasting kitchen, not as a substitute for meat but as its own island food.
Advance Preparation
- •Thaw frozen octopus slowly in the refrigerator for 24 hours, then drain it well before cooking.
- •The finished braise can be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated in its sauce. Reheat gently, uncovered, until glossy again.
- •If serving for a dinner party, cook the octopus fully ahead, then reduce the sauce just before serving so it looks alive on the plate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 220g)
Calories
445 calories
Total Fat
21 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
17 g
Cholesterol
145 mg
Sodium
700 mg
Total Carbohydrates
13 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
45 g
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