Octopus peka

Marin Katičin, head of Pitter d.o.o. in Croatia, cooks one of his favorite recipes for us: octopus peka. Perfect for bringing the holiday feeling and Croatian cuisine home.

In short, something about the Peka tradition

The typical Dalmatian Peka is cooked under a cast iron bell in the embers of a fireplace. In rural areas and on the islands of Dalmatia, such traditional fireplaces are almost everywhere on the ground floors of houses, or in the yard or garden. They are places of gathering with family and friends.

You need these ingredients for Marin's Octopus Peka

• 2 kg octopus
• 1 ½ kg of potatoes
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 4 carrots
• spring onions
• ¼ l Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• 3 Zweige frischer Rosmarin
• ¼ l white wine
• Lemon to drizzle

Now it's time to cook

Step 1: Clean the octopus and pre-cook for about 30 minutes. Add some garlic oil with a clove of crushed garlic and olive oil.

Step 2: Cut the potatoes and vegetables into wedges. Layer all the ingredients except the wine in the peka pot, season, brush with olive oil and cover with the dome.

Step 3: Place the bowl in the embers of a fire bowl (or oven) and let it cook for about 45 minutes, then take it out and turn the octopus over, mix everything, add the wine and let it simmer for another half hour.

Step 4: Before serving, drizzle with lemon and garlic oil.

Another small tip: Fresh octopus needs to be frozen, then it will be more tender and even more tasty on the next day.

In our blog category Culinary & Lifestyle you will also find other Croatian recipes as well as recipes from our other charter destinations. Feel free to take a look and taste the delights of different countries and cultures.

We wish you a lot of fun cooking and bon appetit.