France in Focus

We watched a travel programme yesterday evening hosted by Susan Calman a Scottish comedienne, television presenter, writer and panellist. She was on a cruise and was great to watch.

She and I have one thing in common we both hate octopus as a food! She forced down two small pieces and retched for Scotland. I cannot stand the thought of eating something basically without legs but which has long tentacles with suckers on them. YUK!

Does anyone on here actually enjoy eating them?

Yes I do if cooked properly

Yes - in Italy they do the tentacles deep fried in a light batter with other seafood. Fruits de mer? Delicious.

Squid also is good. Yet I detest snails.

On a ferry restaurant to Italy from Sicily we ordered baby octopus.
Bit of a surprise when they arrived whole 'sat up' on the plate & began to move like they were still alive as the boat vibrated when leaving port.
Fair put our friends off their lunch.

Only a couple of times & they were battered otherwise I wouldn't have touched them.

@L Austin France oh crikey that sounds gross

L Austin France wrote: ↑Sat Apr 09, 2022 12:57 pm Bit of a surprise when they arrived whole 'sat up' on the plate & began to move like they were still alive

Ah, I remember being presented with a couple of urchins, which I'd never eaten before, on a plate. When they started to move across the plate - clearly they were still alive - I chickened out !
The thought of eating something still alive ...

Doesn't sound like many of us would enjoy being in the jungle - get me outta here

Sparkle wrote: ↑Sat Apr 09, 2022 2:02 pm Doesn't sound like many of us would enjoy being in the jungle - get me outta here

Ask Nadine Dorries - apparently she's a bit partial to chewing on an ostrich anus, so she'd probably like it.

The only time I've had octopus is at a taverna in Greece years ago. The only item on the menu was sliced octopus tentacles, or calamari fried, washed down with Ouzo. Most other diners were Greek - not many tourists. It was definitely a "wouldn't work in any other atmosphere" experience! But it was worth it for the memory.

Oh, and the octopi were hung up along the front of the terrace to dry out ......

My first octopus and squid was in our cheap hotel on the Costa Brava in 1964. Not fine dining to say the least and like pieces of inner tube in a weird sauce. Given them a miss ever since.

Lovely stuff. Best for breakfast washed down with retzina not ouzo. Aah memories of Cassandra 1969 before any tourists found it.