Oktapodi Krasato

Name: Oktapodi Krasato
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Cypriot
Ingredients: Whole octopus; Olive oil; Onion; Garlic; Red wine; Bay leaf; Salt; Black pepper; Red wine vinegar

Oktapodi Krasato, plated as one serving.

330 kcal a serving, against 462 for the traditional version. That is 132 kcal off, or 29%, with 38.2g of protein. Serves 4. 2 hours.

What the traditional version is

Proper Oktapodi Krasato starts with a whole octopus, cleaned and chopped, then browned in a lot of olive oil. Garlic, onion, and bay join the party, followed by far too much rough village wine. The whole lot simmers until the octopus is tender and the sauce's thick. You eat it hot, spooned over bread, with the oil and wine soaking up every crumb.

What changed, and what each change costs

Olive oil down from 70g to 20g

The oil is more about gloss and texture than any core flavour - and it's the main thing slowing you down. I want the octopus to snap a bit cleaner and let the wine do more of the lifting.

What it costs you. You'll miss the generous, unctuous finish the oil gives. The mouthfeel's lighter, and the sauce is less silky. But the octopus itself is still the main act, and it doesn't need more fat to show off.

Red wine reduced from 350g to 250g

A little less wine means a sauce with less sugar and a bit sharper. The octopus still soaks it up, and you can always splash a bit extra in your glass if you're mourning the loss.

What it costs you. There's slightly less depth in the sauce; it's not quite as rich and the octopus comes through more plainly. Frankly, if your taverna's using two bottles in the pot, they're covering up for tough octopus anyway.

No bread on the side

The only thing more dangerous than the olive oil is the half-loaf you'll tear into the sauce out of habit. I'm saving you from soaking up an extra meal's worth of carbs.

What it costs you. I admit, this is mean. The sauce begs for bread, but you'll taste more octopus and less bakery. If you're desperate, nick a slice, but the maths won't thank you.

What goes in it

The ingredients, without the quantities. The weights are what the figures below are computed from, and they are in the book.

Whole octopus
Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Red wine
Bay leaf
Salt
Black pepper
Red wine vinegar

How it starts

Clean the octopus if your fishmonger hasn't already, and chop it into large pieces.
Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot.
Chuck in the onion, sliced, and the garlic, crushed but not obliterated.

The rest of the method, and every weight, is in Authentic-ish Cypriot.

The numbers

Per serving	Traditional	Lightened
Calories	462	330
Protein	38.2g	38.2g
Fat	20.2g	7.7g
Saturated fat	3g	1.3g
Carbohydrate	14g	13.4g
Protein per 100 kcal	8.3g	11.6g

Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Cypriot prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked. How every number is computed sets out the method.

Allergens. molluscs, sulphites.

The method is in the book

There was not much to do here. Octopus is already high in protein and low in fat. The main move is slashing the olive oil and holding back the wine, which means the sauce won't stick to your lips in quite the same way. But the octopus is as tender, winey and comforting as ever. If you're a sauce mopper, you'll curse the missing bread, but you might taste more sea in each bite, for better or worse. The original is a little more honest, a little more luxurious, but if you want a dish that delivers protein without the baggage, this is one you can polish off and still stand up straight for the next course.

The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Cypriot, along with 47 more. Buy the paperback