How to cook octopus, English style

Ingredients for large 4-5 portion dish:

• Large octopus. This beauty was about 2.5 kg.
• 5 large purple onions.
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 2 tbsp of high quality balsamic vinegar
• 400 ml of full bodied red wine.
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil for cooking
• 3-4 sprig of fresh rosemary
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• ½ kg small mushrooms (optional)

Bring large amount of water to boiling (at least four times as much as an octopus weight). Slowly lower octopus into a boiling water, tentacles down and cook for 40 seconds.

Remove octopus from the boiling water and place into an ice cold water. All tentacles should be curl. If not, then repeat few times from previous step.

In a large casserole fry largely chopped onion until translucent. When onion turns soft, add sugar, garlic, balsamic vinegar, mushrooms and salt and pepper.

Place octopus, add rosemary sprigs and add wine. Add water to cover octopus, but not more than amount of wine.

Bring content of casserole to boil.

Cook octopus in the oven (temperature 170-200 ° C) until tender. Usually it will take about 2 hours, and this time is not really related with the size of an octopus.

Remove octopus from the casserole and set aside. Liquid from the octopus with plenty of onion is a perfect sauce for this dish, but it should be thickened. Reduce away this liquid by rapid boiling with constant steering until it rich nice syrupy consistency.

Sere octopus with mushrooms and sprinkle it with syrupy sauce.