Celebration of the end of the olive harvest part 2

Ingredients

1 kg of octopus
2 banana shallots
200ml of olive oil
200ml of white wine
100ml of water
2 bay leaves
5 whole black peppercorns
Tablespoon of tomato paste
Tablespoon of fresh oregano chopped to garnish

Ingredients for bulghur wheat

200g of bulghur wheat
500ml of chicken stock
20g of vermicelli
One banana shallot
A tablespoon of olive oil
The juice of half a lemon
Salt to taste

Directions

1. Prepare the octopus by cleaning (I ordered mine pre-cleaned) and cut in rough chunks of 3cm. Cut the thicker part of the tentacle into smaller pieces.
2. Dice the onions and very gently fry on a low heat in the olive oil. When translucent add the octopus pieces and stir for a minute.
3. Add the bay leaves, peppercorns, wine and water. Cover and leave to very gently simmer for 2 hours or until soft.
4. Fifteen minutes before ready add the tomato paste and start preparing the bulghur wheat.

For the bulghur wheat:

1. Dice the onion and set aside.
2. Crush the vermicelli (if in nests) by placing it in-between a clean tablecloth and press heavily with your palm.
3. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan and place the crushed vermicelli and fry until brown which will happen very quickly.  It’s important to fry the vermicelli first as it will not colour if the onions are fried first.
4. Stir in the diced onions which will prevent the vermicelli from browning any further.  Lower the heat and cook the onions until soft and translucent. Add stock and bring to a boil.
5. Add bulghur wheat and stir once. Reduce the heat,  add lemon juice and leave to cook covered.
6. Once the wheat has absorbed all the stock turn the heat off and keep covered for a full ten minutes to complete the cooking.  Add salt to taste.
7. Garnish the octopus and serve. I eat this with some Turkish bread.