Chef Dimitra
Bourdeto Kerkyra (Μπουρδέτο Κέρκυρας)
Corfu's bourdeto is a red, pepper-hot fish braise, traditionally made with scorpionfish, potatoes, tomato, and enough heat to announce the Ionian table.
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Cycladic Htapodi Stifado (Χταπόδι Στιφάδο)
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Cycladic octopus stifado is the fasting table's stew: octopus cooked first in its own liquor, then braised with pearl onions, red wine, vinegar, and warm spice.
Soups & Stews
Greek
Comfort Food
Dinner Party
One Pot
35 min
Active Time
1 hr 45 min cook•2 hr 20 min total
Yield4 to 6 servings
Cycladic htapodi stifado is octopus with small onions, red wine, vinegar, bay, and a little warm spice, cooked until the sauce turns dark and glossy. The islands know this dish well. It belongs to the fasting table, where octopus can stand in the place meat usually holds in a stifado, without pretending to be meat.
The one rule is simple: cook the octopus first with no water. It gives up its own liquor, briny and purple-red, and that becomes the backbone of the sauce. Add water at the start and you get tenderness, yes, but a thinner dish. Keep the liquor and the pot remembers the sea.
Use small onions that can stay whole, not chopped onion that disappears. They should soften into sweetness beside the wine and vinegar, while the octopus turns tender but not woolly. This is patient food, not difficult food. Good olive oil, and patience.
I write this one as I learned to trust it from island kitchens and from the older fasting tables: λίγα και καλά, a few things, and good ones. The region is the dish's surname, and here the surname is the Aegean.
Stifado comes from the Italian stufato, a word carried into Greek cooking through Venetian rule in the Ionian islands and parts of the Aegean from the thirteenth century onward. On the islands, the form was adapted to local seafood, and octopus became a natural fasting stifado because Orthodox practice permits many shellfish and cephalopods on fasting days. The small onions, vinegar, wine, bay, and sweet spice mark the older island braise, distinct from mainland meat stifado.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
cleaned octopus (χταπόδι)
Quantity
1.2kg
fresh or fully thawed if frozen
pearl onions or small shallots
Quantity
700g
peeled
extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil
Quantity
90ml
red onions
Quantity
2 medium
thinly sliced
garlic cloves
Quantity
4
thinly sliced
tomato paste
Quantity
2 tablespoons
dry red wine
Quantity
250ml
red wine vinegar
Quantity
60ml
crushed ripe tomatoes or canned crushed tomatoes
Quantity
400g
bay leaves
Quantity
2
whole allspice berries
Quantity
6
small cinnamon stick
Quantity
1
dried Greek oregano
Quantity
1 teaspoon
black peppercorns
Quantity
1 teaspoon
lightly cracked
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon
plus more only if needed
flat-leaf parsley (optional)
Quantity
2 tablespoons
chopped
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| cleaned octopus (χταπόδι)fresh or fully thawed if frozen | 1.2kg |
| pearl onions or small shallotspeeled | 700g |
| extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil | 90ml |
| red onionsthinly sliced | 2 medium |
| garlic clovesthinly sliced | 4 |
| tomato paste | 2 tablespoons |
| dry red wine | 250ml |
| red wine vinegar | 60ml |
| crushed ripe tomatoes or canned crushed tomatoes | 400g |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| whole allspice berries | 6 |
| small cinnamon stick | 1 |
| dried Greek oregano | 1 teaspoon |
| black peppercornslightly cracked | 1 teaspoon |
| fine sea saltplus more only if needed | 1 teaspoon |
| flat-leaf parsley (optional)chopped | 2 tablespoons |
Equipment Needed
- •heavy lidded pot or Dutch oven, 28cm
- •fine sieve for straining the octopus liquor
- •wide shallow serving bowl
Instructions
- 1
Cook the octopus
Put the octopus in a heavy pot with no water. Cover and set over medium-low heat for 35 to 45 minutes, turning once or twice, until it releases its own dark pink liquor and a knife enters the thickest part with some resistance. This is the step that decides the dish. Water washes the sea out of octopus; its own liquor gives the stifado its deep, clean base.
Frozen octopus is fine, often better for tenderness. Thaw it fully in the refrigerator and drain it well before it goes into the pot. - 2
Cut and strain
Lift the octopus onto a board and strain the cooking liquor through a fine sieve into a jug. Cut the arms into generous 4cm pieces and the head into smaller pieces, discarding the beak if it is still attached. Keep the liquor. It is not waste; it is the dish speaking.
- 3
Soften the onions
Wipe the pot clean. Add the olive oil, sliced red onions, and pearl onions, then cook over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes. Shake the pot more than you stir, so the small onions stay whole. They should turn glossy and sweet at the edges, not brown hard.
- 4
Build the sauce
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste and let it darken for 2 minutes, then pour in the red wine and vinegar. Scrape the base of the pot and let the sharp smell soften for 3 to 4 minutes.
- 5
Braise gently
Add the crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, allspice, cinnamon, oregano, cracked peppercorns, the reserved octopus liquor, and the octopus pieces. Bring to a low bubble, cover partly, and cook for 45 to 60 minutes, until the octopus is tender and the onions are soft but still holding their shape.
- 6
Finish and rest
Taste before you add salt, because octopus brings its own. Add the sea salt only as needed, then simmer uncovered for 10 minutes if the sauce needs tightening. Pull out the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Rest the stifado off the heat for 15 minutes before serving, with parsley if you like and good bread for the sauce.
Chef Tips
- •Buy octopus that smells clean and faintly of the sea, never sharp. If fresh octopus is poor, buy frozen. A real Greek kitchen does this without shame, because freezing helps tenderize it.
- •Peeling pearl onions is the only tiresome part. Pour boiling water over them for 2 minutes, drain, then pinch off the skins. Keep the root end barely intact so they don't fall apart in the pot.
- •Serve htapodi stifado warm, not boiling hot, with country bread or plain rice. For a fasting table, set it beside horta, olives, and a sharp cabbage salad.
Advance Preparation
- •The octopus can be cooked in its own liquor 1 day ahead. Chill the pieces and strained liquor together, then finish the stifado the next day.
- •Peel the pearl onions up to 1 day ahead and keep them covered in the refrigerator.
- •The finished stifado improves after a few hours. Rewarm it gently over low heat so the octopus stays tender.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 440g)
Calories
470 calories
Total Fat
19 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
16 g
Cholesterol
115 mg
Sodium
1120 mg
Total Carbohydrates
32 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
12 g
Protein
40 g
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