Anna's Portuguese Style Octopus Stew (Fransisco approved!)
Ingredients
·
3
Lbs large octopus cut in large pieces (shrinks a lot during cooking)
·
5
large potatoes
·
4
Tbsp. of quality olive oil
·
1
medium cooking onion chopped
·
4
cloves of garlic minced
·
1
small can of tomato paste
·
1
large bay leaf
·
1
cup of good red or white wine (I always use the Red wine)
·
1
tsp salt
·
1
tsp piri piri spice (Anna's was in a shaker not liquid)
·
1cup
Portuguese hot or sweet pepper sauce (this gives it a small touch of heat,
adjust accordingly, Anna used 1/2 of each)
·
3
small sprigs of parsley chopped coarse
1. In
a large pot, heat up the olive oil. Add the onions, sauté until they start
becoming translucent and add the garlic. Sauté for another two minutes.
2.
Add the tomato paste, piri piri spice, bay leaf.
Stir until the tomato paste is completely dissolved. Now add the salt and
pepper sauce. The sauce will look thick and like it doesn't have enough water.
This is expected. Do not add water.
3.
Add the chopped octopus to the pot and mix well. As soon as the mix starts to
bubble, decrease the temperature to medium or a touch lower and let simmer for 1
hour.
4.
Add the chopped potatoes, simmer for 1 more hour
5.
Add the wine.
6.
Take the lid off the pot and taste the sauce and octopus. Add additional salt if
needed. If the octopus feels a little tough, cover the pot and cook a bit longer
until the octopus is tender, sprinkle with parsley when cooked.
Serve
the octopus with crusty bread.
Anna de Lima G16
1.
Place the octopus in a large bowl and cover with milk, allow
soaking for two to three hours. The milk contains a chemical that softens the
octopus and makes it easier to cut
2.
Locate the eyes, which are on the head, close to the tentacles
and cut the head off directly below the eyes, separating the head from the
tentacles. Use a sharp knife for this task to make a cleaner cut
3.
Cut away the eyes and make a slit from the bottom of the head up
to the very top
4.
Open the head of the octopus, revealing the dark brown innards.
Remove and discard the innards from the head, leaving behind a clean piece of
meat
5.
Rinse the head in water and remove
the skin from the head by peeling it away with your fingers. The skin is
entirely edible, but can contribute to a chewy texture
6.
Cut the octopus's head into strips
7.
Pick up the tentacles and locate the hard beak in the center of
the tentacles
8.
Push the beak out of the octopus's body
9.
Cut the tentacles apart. If the octopus is small, you may cook
the tentacles without cutting them apart