Portuguese Slow Cooked Octopus

Each weekend, I give myself a day off!  One day when I don’t need to feel guilty if I choose to stay in bed with an excellent book, a sleepy feline and a cup of coffee.   This weekend, I wandered off on the Sunday and had a pedicure (bright sparkling wizard of oz red, as you asked) and then committed a fatal foodie sin I wandered into a fish shop without knowing what I want.

Seduced by the array of produce, I bought an octopus!  Hell, I thought, I’ve never cooked it but if worse comes to worse, I can always order pizza.  So having done a little research online, I came up with this interpretation of a Portuguese recipe which was rich, warming and utterly delicious.

So herewith my interpretation of a dish I first had in Olhao:

• One Octopus (mine was about a kilo and a half)
• 100 grams of sliced chorizo, chopped
• 1 standard tin of plum tomato
• 1 large onion, chopped
• Half a bottle of full bodied red wine
• 100ml red wine vinegar (to taste)
• Big pinch of oregano
• Two teaspoons of pureed garlic
• 15 ml of Worcester sauce
• Oil for frying
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Chop the head off the octopus and fry the entire remainder until it turns pink

1. Remove the octopus and chop into bite sized chunks
2. Fry the onion in the oil until translucent and then add the chopped chorizo
3. After about a minute, add the garlic and fry it quickly before turning the heat right down and adding the tomato
4. Add the red wine and then slowly add the vinegar.  You want a slightly sour taste but you don't want it to make you wince.
5. Finally add the Worcester sauce and the oregano.  Then taste and add a little pepper and salt - the seafood is salty so you don't need much at all.
6. Leave to slowly cook at a low heat for about 2 hours or until the octopus falls apart.  This isn't an exact science and you just need to keep tasting.

Serve over crushed potatoes or with hot bread to dip.  This is salty and tart with a morish octopus taste that also has a hint of Chorizo.

So very very good

Enjoy

L x

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