Octopus And Potatoes Recipes

OCTOPUS AND POTATO SALAD

Steps:

• Dip the octopus in cold water, make it boil and cook slowly for about 40 minutes. Then turn off the heat and let the octopus cook covered in its water till it's quite cool. From time to time (not too often otherwise you risk losing the heat from the pot) turn the octopus and check the softness with the tines of a fork.
• Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes of about 2 cm (1 inch). Boil them in plenty of lightly salted water for about 20 minutes. Drain and let them cool.
• in a bowl, using a fork or a small whisk, emulsify oil, chopped parsley, lemon juice, a clove of garlic (which you will remove), salt and pepper.
• After the octopus has cooled, remove it from the water and place it on a cutting board. Remove excess skin and cut the octopus into small pieces. Place octopus and potatoes in a serving dish. Add the seasoning, and mix very gently until the marinade is evenly distributed. Let octopus and potato salad rest for 1 hour to well combine the ingredients before serving.

WARM OCTOPUS AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Put the octopus in a pot with water to cover; add the bay leaves, thyme, and garlic. Turn the heat to medium, cover, and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat so that the liquid simmers slowly and cook until the octopus is nearly tender, 30 to 90 minutes (check with the point of a sharp knife). Add the potatoes to the water and cook for another 10 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Drain and discard everything but the octopus and potatoes.
• Transfer the potatoes to a platter (wood is traditional) and the octopus to a cutting board. Let cool for a couple of minutes, then cut it into bitesized pieces. Add to the potatoes, sprinkle with paprika, drizzle with plenty of olive oil, and toss gently. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

BABY OCTOPUS AND POTATO

Steps:

• Separate heads from tentacles, and cut the larger heads in half; cut the tentacles into two or four bunches. Marinate the baby octopi for at least one hour in a mixture of Ponzu sauce, lemon juice, wine, shallot and garlic. You may also add the mushrooms here.
• Meanwhile, rinse the potatoes, cut out any eyes, and slice about 1/4 inch. Place on baking pan and mix in ground pepper, tarragon, and rosemary, to taste. (Fresh is nicest, but dried will do.) Add a little olive oil to prevent burning.
• Roast in pre-heated 350 F degree oven for 15-20 minutes.
• Drain marinate from the baby octopi into cooking pot (dimensions of your pot are important, you want as small a surface area as possible to minimize addition of water). At this point, add the 1/4 cup water.
• Bring to boil, reduce to simmer.
• Add octopi, and additional water to cover, if needed. (You could ainstead add any or all of the other liquids to taste, as additional ideas)
• Bring liquid back to a rapid simmer, not a full-fledged boil. For baby octopi, simmer this way 15-20 minutes. Avoid too much liquid, but also avoid burning.
• Time your finish time to coincide more or less with the potato finish time, with the potatoes finishing first. Layer potatos on a serving plate, and pour the octopus dish over this. If you have too much liquid, then strain your octopus out and place over potatoes, although be sure some of its cooking marinate is served.
• For a little spice, add the crushed hot red pepper flakes at serving time. It's a nice extra bit of spice.

OCTOPUS AND POTATOES WITH OLIVES AND CHILE

Steps:

• Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces. Generously cover with cold water in a medium saucepan and add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Simmer, partially covered, until just tender, about 12 minutes. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain.
• Cook onion and garlic in oil with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is just tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in red-pepper flakes and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add vinegar and cook until most of liquid has evaporated. Stir in potatoes, beans, octopus, tapenade, and 1/2 cup reserved cooking water and cook until just heated through. Remove from heat. Add more cooking water to moisten if necessary. Sprinkle with parsley and drizzle with olive oil.

SPANISH OCTOPUS AND POTATOES - PULPO CON CACHELOS

Steps:

• Freezing octopus tenderizes it. No need to beat it. Blanch the thawed octopus in boiling water for one minute. Drain. Bring another pan of water to a boil with the slice of onion and the bay leaves. Add the octopus and let it cook at a simmer for about one hour. It should be tender, just a little chewy. Remove and let it cool slightly. When cool enough to handle, slide off the pinkish skin and discard. (Optional. Many prefer to leave the skin.)
• Cut the potatoes in half and add them to the same water in which the octopus cooked and cook them until tender. With scissors, cut the octopus into bite size pieces. Arrange them on wooden plates with the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt, paprika, garlic, and drizzle with the oil. Serve.