In search of Polpi, part 1.....

[poltr1]

Years ago, around Christmas time, my uncle Yano -- that's short for Sebastiano, and he was a good friend of my parents, hence the title of "uncle" -- would make an appetizer out of marinated octopus ("polpi" in Italian). I think he used olive oil, lemon juice, and some spices. I remember it being a little tough to eat, but it was delicious.

Not many cultures eat octopus. As far as I know, it's eaten by folks from southern Italy, Greece, Spain, and Japan. (Sushi bars have sliced octopus, which they call "tako".)

I've had the recipe for years -- or what I think is the recipe -- and I want to make it for myself. The problem is, where do I find octopus? None of the seafood markets around here (Kroger, Meijer, Cub Foods) keep it in stock. And whatever octopus they sell in Detroit gets tossed onto the ice at Red Wings games. (It commemorates their 1952 winning of the Stanley Cup in 8 games. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_the_Octopus for more info.)

I'm considering a trip to Jungle Jim's in Fairfield sometime next week. I'd go today, but I'm a little short of cash.