ktapódi (chtapódi)

Octopus. Drying on a clothes line before being barbecued as a meze with ouzo is one of the clichés of a summer on a Greek island. There are countless recipes for them, including a salad or stew; on Symi, fishermen also dry octopus roe for a snack. They are also nistisimo–a source of protein during Lent. These days they are rarer and tend to be quite pricey in any form (and often imported from China).

There has been talk of farming octopus (they are experimenting in China) but most researchers say it would be unethical, not only because of the amount of fish they would need to feed them, but because octopuses are very bright and curious, and the only invertebrate animal capable of conscious experience, with a brain in every tentacle, and it would be cruel to keep them in captivity.