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.
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Santorini Fava me Chtapodi Krasato (Φάβα με Χταπόδι Κρασάτο)
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Santorini fava is soft yellow split peas under wine-braised octopus, capers, red onion, and good olive oil, a Cycladic fasting plate where the island field meets the sea.
Main Dishes
Greek
Comfort Food
Budget Friendly
Special Occasion
25 min
Active Time
1 hr 30 min cook•1 hr 55 min total
Yield4 main servings or 6 meze servings
Santorini fava me chtapodi is the island's yellow split-pea puree, not broad beans, with wine-braised octopus laid over it. The fava is the soft floor, sweet from onion and the island's volcanic soil; the octopus brings the sea, the wine, and a little chew. The region is the dish's surname here, because Santorini's fava is its own thing.
The fava must be cooked with only onion. No carrot, no garlic, no stock. Those make a busier pot, and I want the pea's sweetness clear so the octopus can sit on it without fighting. Simmer gently, skim the foam, and beat in the olive oil at the end. Good olive oil, and patience.
The octopus doesn't need bullying. Let it give its own liquor first, then add wine and vinegar and cook it low until a knife slides into the thickest part. Spoon the dark juices over the yellow fava and finish with capers, red onion, and green-gold oil. In my notebook this one is marked nistisimo, fasting food, and nobody at the table feels punished.
Santorini fava is made from Lathyrus clymenum, a yellow legume cultivated on the island for millennia; archaeobotanical finds at Bronze Age Akrotiri show the crop was already part of the island's food. It received EU PDO status in 2010, separating it from ordinary yellow split peas sold elsewhere as fava. Pairing it with octopus belongs to the Cycladic fasting table: on many Orthodox fast days, especially those permitting wine and oil, mollusks such as octopus remained allowed when meat, dairy, and fish with backbone were not.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
cleaned octopus (chtapodi)
Quantity
1kg
thawed if frozen
dry red wine
Quantity
150ml
red wine vinegar
Quantity
30ml
extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil
Quantity
120ml
divided
red onion
Quantity
1 small, 100g
half thinly sliced and half shaved for serving
bay leaves
Quantity
2
black peppercorns
Quantity
6
dried Greek oregano
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Fava Santorinis PDO (split yellow lathyrus peas)
Quantity
350g
picked over and rinsed
yellow onion
Quantity
1 medium, 150g
chopped
water
Quantity
1.2L
plus hot water as needed
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 1/4 teaspoons
divided
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
15ml
Santorini capers
Quantity
2 tablespoons
rinsed
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
2 tablespoons
chopped
lemon wedges (optional)
Quantity
as needed
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| cleaned octopus (chtapodi)thawed if frozen | 1kg |
| dry red wine | 150ml |
| red wine vinegar | 30ml |
| extra virgin Koroneiki olive oildivided | 120ml |
| red onionhalf thinly sliced and half shaved for serving | 1 small, 100g |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| black peppercorns | 6 |
| dried Greek oregano | 1 teaspoon |
| Fava Santorinis PDO (split yellow lathyrus peas)picked over and rinsed | 350g |
| yellow onionchopped | 1 medium, 150g |
| waterplus hot water as needed | 1.2L |
| fine sea saltdivided | 1 1/4 teaspoons |
| fresh lemon juice | 15ml |
| Santorini capersrinsed | 2 tablespoons |
| flat-leaf parsleychopped | 2 tablespoons |
| lemon wedges (optional)for serving | as needed |
Equipment Needed
- •heavy lidded pot, 24cm
- •heavy saucepan, 22cm
- •immersion blender or food mill
- •wide shallow serving platter, 30cm
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the octopus
Rinse the octopus well, especially inside the head cavity. Remove the beak if the fishmonger left it, then pat it dry. Keep the tentacles whole for now; they cut more cleanly after they have softened.
- 2
Braise the octopus
Set the octopus in a heavy lidded pot with the bay leaves and peppercorns. Do not add salt or water. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until it curls and gives a deep rose-colored liquor. Add the wine, vinegar, 30ml of the olive oil, and the sliced half of the red onion. Cover again and simmer gently for 40 to 55 minutes, turning once, until a small knife slides into the thickest part of a tentacle. If the liquid falls below 1cm, add a small splash of hot water.
Octopus seasons the pot itself. Salt early and you risk a hard, briny sauce, so taste only at the end. - 3
Simmer the fava
While the octopus cooks, put the rinsed fava, chopped yellow onion, and 1.2L water in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a steady simmer and skim the gray foam for the first 10 minutes. Lower the heat and cook, partly covered, for 35 to 45 minutes, stirring now and then at the bottom, until the peas collapse and the pot looks thick and yellow. Cook it with only onion. Garlic, carrot, bay, and stock make a louder pot, and Santorini fava should stay sweet enough to hold the octopus without fighting it.
If the fava catches on the bottom, don't scrape the browned part back in. Move the clean fava to another pot and keep going. - 4
Beat it smooth
Take the fava off the heat and let it stand for 5 minutes. Beat it hard with a wooden spoon or use an immersion blender just until smooth. Stir in 60ml olive oil, the lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. It should fall from the spoon in soft ribbons, a little looser than you want on the plate, because fava firms as it rests. Add hot water by the tablespoon if it looks stiff.
- 5
Glaze the octopus
Lift the octopus to a board. Discard the bay leaves and peppercorns. Cut the tentacles into 4 to 5cm pieces and slice the head if it is tender. Boil the braising liquid uncovered for 5 to 8 minutes, until it turns glossy and coats a spoon. Return the octopus to the pot with the oregano and toss it through the dark wine juices. Taste, then add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt only if the capers will not do the work.
- 6
Serve the dish
Spoon the warm fava onto a wide shallow platter. Lay the wine-braised octopus over it and spoon a little of the reduced sauce across the top. Scatter with capers, shaved red onion, parsley, and the remaining 30ml olive oil. Serve warm or at room temperature with lemon wedges and country bread.
Chef Tips
- •Fava Santorinis PDO is the one that belongs here. If you can't find it, use Greek yellow split peas and say plainly what changed; the pot will still feed you, but the island surname has softened.
- •Frozen octopus is not a compromise. The cold helps loosen the flesh, and many island cooks know this perfectly well. Buy one that smells clean and sea-bright, not strong. If the only octopus at the market is tired, make plain fava with capers today. Λίγα και καλά.
- •Keep the fava looser than you think before plating. It thickens as it cools, and a stiff fava sits heavy under the octopus. Hot water and olive oil bring it back.
- •A little octopus goes far over a wide plate of fava. That is how a fasting table stretches the sea without pretending. Serve it with bread, lemon, and a dry island wine.
Advance Preparation
- •Thaw frozen octopus overnight in the refrigerator, set over a tray to catch any liquid.
- •The fava can be cooked 1 day ahead. Rewarm it gently with splashes of hot water, then beat in a little olive oil before serving.
- •The octopus can be braised 1 day ahead and chilled in its juices. Rewarm it gently, then reduce the sauce just before plating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 570g)
Calories
785 calories
Total Fat
31 g
Saturated Fat
5 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
25 g
Cholesterol
120 mg
Sodium
1320 mg
Total Carbohydrates
66 g
Dietary Fiber
24 g
Sugars
10 g
Protein
60 g
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