Fish and seafood

Sun-dried octopus

Termoli sun-dried octopus, stretched on a cross of cane

On the Molise coast octopuses under half a kilo are cleaned in seawater and beaten on a rock, or turned for a long time in a pot, to make them tender. They are then spread on two canes tied in a cross and dried in the sun, moved into half-shade in the hottest hours so they do not scorch. A Molise traditional agri-food product (PAT), already documented in a 1928 guide to Termoli.

• Small octopuses, under 500 grams, dried with their skin on
• Slow, gradual drying, turned on the cross so it dries evenly
• Kept wrapped in paper inside woven poplar baskets hung in the air

How to enjoy it. Store it the Termoli way: wrapped in paper, away from dust and insects, somewhere the air can circulate.

Production areas

Molise

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