Tomato Braised Octopus Recipes

ITALIAN STEWED OCTOPUS (POLPI IN UMIDO)

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salty water to a boil. Toss the octopus into the boiling water , return to a boil and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove. Discard the water.
• Cut the octopus into large pieces and sauté in olive oil over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and sauté for another minute or two.
• Add the wine and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir well and let it cook down for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and chili flakes and bring to a simmer.
• Add about a teaspoon of salt and the honey or sugar. Mix well, cover the pot and simmer for 30 minutes.
• At 30 minutes, add the optional capers, half the dill, and half the parsley. Check the octopus-sometimes small ones will be tender in just 30 minutes.
• If it is still super-chewy, cover the pot again and simmer for up to another 45 minutes.
• When you think you are about 10 minutes away from the octopus being done, uncover the pot and turn the heat up a little to cook down the sauce.
• To serve, add the remaining dill and parsley and black pepper to taste.
• Accompany with bread or pasta either hot or at room temperature. A crisp white wine like Spanish Albarino, Italian Orvieto or pinot grigio makes a good pairing for this interesting seafood meal.

SPANISH OCTOPUS

Steps:

• Place chopped onion, garlic cloves, bay leaf, paprika, salt, and 1 tablespoon olive oil into saucepan. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until onions start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add white wine to create the braising liquid. Bring to a simmer.
• Transfer octopus into braising liquid, turning to coat with the liquid. Cover; reduce heat to low. Simmer 20 minutes and turn octopus over. Continue cooking until octopus is tender, another 40 to 45 minutes.
• Remove from heat; transfer octopus to a large bowl. Pour braising liquid over octopus. Place bowl above a bowl of ice water to cool to room temperature.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap when octopus and liquid are cool. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Transfer octopus to a work surface and mop off braising juices with paper towels; remove as much of the purple skin as you want. Cut octopus into 3 or 4 serving-size pieces. Brush with olive oil.
• Transfer braising liquid to saucepan. Bring to a boil; remove from heat. Strain out solids; transfer liquid to a mixing bowl; let cool about 10 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, parsley, salt, and cayenne pepper to make the serving sauce.
• Heat a grill pan or outdoor grill to high heat. Transfer octopus pieces to grill. Cook until flesh is seared, almost charred, 3 or 4 minutes. Turn and cook other side until dark brown, caramelized, and heated through, another 3 or 4 minutes. Transfer to a platter.
• Slice octopus into fairly thick diagonal slices. Place on a serving dish. Spoon braising liquid mixture over the top. Dust with a bit of cayenne pepper, if desired.

POULPE PROVENCAL (OCTOPUS BRAISED IN TOMATO AND WINE)

Steps:

• To clean each octopus, use a small sharp knife and cut each head from the tentacles. Remove the eyes by cutting a round of flesh from the base of each head. To clean the heads, CAREFULLY slit them open and remove the gut. Rinse thoroughly. Cut the heads in half. Push out the beaks from the center of the tentacles from the cut side. Cut the tentacles into sets of four or two, depending on the size of the octopus. Set aside.
• Score a cross in the base of each tomato. Place the tomatoes in a bowl of boiling water for 10 seconds, then plunge into cold water and peel the skin away from the cross.
• Cut each tomato in half and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon. Chop the flesh and set aside.
• Blanch all the octopus in boiling water for 2 minutes, then dain and allow to cool slightly. Pat dry with paper towels.
• Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan and cook the onion for 7-8 minutes until lightly golden.
• Add the octopus and garlic to the pan and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
• Add the tomatos, wine, saffron and thyme.
• Add just enough water to cover the octopus.
• Simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour. Uncover and cook for another 15 minutes or until the octopus is tender and the sauce has thickened a little. The cooking time will vary quite a bit depending upon the size of the octopus.
• Season to taste. Serve hot or at room temperature, sprinkled with chopped parsley. (We like it at room temp).

OCTAPODI KOKKINISTO (GREEK OCTOPUS IN TOMATO SAUCE)

Steps:

• Place the octopus pieces into a large saucepan. Cover, and cook over medium-high heat until the octopus has released its juices, 10 to 15 minutes. Uncover, and continue simmering until the liquid has reduced to 3 to 4 tablespoons, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Drizzle the octopus with olive oil, then stir in the onions and bay leaves. Cook and stir until the onions have softened, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the octopus is tender and the sauce has thickened, about 25 minutes. Cook uncovered for the last 10 minutes if the sauce is too thin.

BRAISED OCTOPUS

Steps:

• Set the saucepan over low heat. Pour in 6 tablespoons of the olive oil. Scatter the onion in the bottom of the pan and add the garlic. Nestle the octopus on top of the onions. Scatter the olives over the octopus. Cover and let the octopus stew in its own juices for 1 hour.
• Uncover the octopus, there should be a lot of liquid from the octopus in the pan. Cover and continue to stew over low heat until the octopus is very tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes more, depending on the size of the octopus. To test for doneness, stick a fork in the thickest part of the octopus, it is done if the fork slides out easily.
• Remove the octopus from the pot and let cool slightly. Cut the octopus into 3/4-inch chunks, skin and all. Put the octopus chunks in the skillet and pour in the contents of the saucepan as well. Taste the sauce for salt (the octopus can be very salty) and add the salt, if needed. Get the sauce simmering rapidly over medium heat and stir in the parsley. You should have 2 cups or so of braising juices in the skillet. If there's much more than that, boil to reduce the sauce

BRAISED OCTOPUS

Steps:

• In a large, heavy pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook about 2 minutes. Add the chili-pepper flakes and the octopus. Cover. Lower heat. Braise until tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring frequently.
• Add tomatoes and stir well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir, cover and simmer for 10 more minutes. Add parsley. Serve with grilled country bread.

SPAGHETTI WITH OCTOPUS BRAISED IN RED WINE

Steps:

• Place 2 tablespoons olive oil in large skillet or saute pan, and turn heat to medium-high. Add carrot, onion and celery. Sprinkle with pinch of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion becomes translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add octopus, along with some pepper and a little more salt. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute, and then add wine, bay leaf and garlic. Cook until octopus is tender, for about 1 hour (check with point of sharp knife). Remove octopus, and cut into bite-size pieces. Return octopus to skillet, and turn heat to a minimum.
• Meanwhile, bring large pot of water to boil, and salt it. Fifteen minutes before eating, begin cooking pasta. When it is barely tender but not nearly tender enough to eat, drain it, reserving about 1 cup cooking liquid. Add pasta to octopus mixture, with half the reserved liquid. Cook until pasta is tender but not mushy; add remaining liquid if needed to keep mixture from drying out.
• Add remaining olive oil, along with butter, cherry tomatoes and basil. Stir until butter melts, and then serve.

TOMATO-BRAISED OCTOPUS

Steps:

• 1 Check the base of the octopus to see if the hard, round beak has been removed. Squeeze it out if necessary. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add the octopus and simmer until tender when pierced with a knife, 30 to 60 minutes. Drain and dry the octopus, reserving some of the cooking liquid. Cut large octopus into bite-size pieces. 2 In a large heavy saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the octopus, tomatoes, 3 tablespoons of the parsley, the garlic, red pepper, and salt to taste. Stir to combine. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook over very low heat, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Add a little of the reserved liquid if the sauce becomes too dry. 3 Uncover and cook 15 minutes more, or until the sauce is thick. Serve hot. From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.