Food Lust People Love: Jersey Octopus Ceviche

Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Jersey Octopus Ceviche

Made with octopus caught in Channel Islands waters, this tender Jersey Octopus Ceviche is the perfect tart and spicy dish for a bright hot summer day.

If you read my grilled octopus post a couple of weeks ago, you’ll know that our favorite eight-legged sea creatures have become quite a menace for folks in these islands that capture crabs and lobsters to sell as their livelihood. An octopus can easily get inside the cages and eat the entire catch!

So, as suggested by our local newspaper, we are trying to eat more octopus! It’s great in a risotto but frankly, we just love it grilled with a squeeze of lemon.

I actually made this ceviche with leftover grilled octopus from that previous recipe but you can use cooked octopus bought vacuum-packed in a grocery store. If you are stateside or live in the UK, Costco carries it as well in the refrigerated section near the meat counter.

Jersey Octopus Ceviche

My three limes were fat and juicy so they yielded about 1/2 cup or 120ml of juice, which nicely covered the sliced onions and chopped chili pepper. Use more if your limes aren’t as productive, juice-wise. This recipe serves two generously.

Ingredients

1/2 medium purple onion

1 red chili pepper

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

3 limes (or more if your limes aren’t juicy)

small bunch cilantro plus extra for garnish, if desired

7 oz or 200g cooked octopus

Method

Peel and finely slice the onion, finely chop the chili pepper and cut the octopus in bite-sized pieces.

Put the onion, chili pepper and salt in a bowl that will eventually hold all of your ingredients. Cover and refrigerate the octopus.

Pick the hard stems off of the cilantro and discard them. Tender stems are fine.

Rinse the cilantro with cool water and spin to dry. Don’t skip this crucial step. No one wants grit in their ceviche.

Chop it finely and set aside.

Juice the limes into a separate bowl and discard any seeds.

Pour the juice into the onion bowl. Give it a little stir then cover and leave to macerate until you are about half an hour from serving. If it’s longer than a couple of hours, you can refrigerate the mixture.

About half an hour before serving, stir the octopus and cilantro into the onion bowl, making sure the octopus is well coated with the marinade.

Set aside to marinate for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir again to serve and garnish with a little more cilantro, if desired.

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 15th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter O. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the O recipes below: