Octopus is something I really enjoy eating. I have tried it in a number of ways: as a stew, with a red caper sauce, as part of a seafood pasta dish, grilled on the barbecue…
This particular recipe however is a firm favourite because it takes 15 minutes of prep from start to finish. The 15 minute preparation time actually gives you a finished dish, including the side dish. The octopus is slow cooked, then combined with a few basic ingredients, and served on top of boiled potatoes. This description does not do this dish any justice. You have to take my word for it. Try it!
This recipe is a Spanish dish, ‘Pulpo a la Gallega’, or ‘Polbo a Feira’ in the Galician language. It is the simplest recipe with only four ingredients, yet the taste is superb. A couple more ingredients are used to create the rest of the dish.
Octopus is a tough meat. If you are not careful, you can end up with a rubbery and chewy dish. One thing you must always do is to freeze your octopus. Do not cook octopus fresh, but rather, freeze, thaw and then cook it. This foolproof process tenderises the fibres. I always buy my octopus from Miracle Foods, since they are always well-stocked with frozen octopus (already cleaned and gutted), ready to be thawed and cooked.
The cooking method also contributes to the final result. I find that slow-cooking always does the job, and is the easiest way to cook it anyway!
These are the busiest two weeks I have had in the past year, possibly even more. My book launches on the 27th of July, next week! I couldn’t be more excited! My to-do list is on the longer side (to say the least), hence I have been more organised than ever to make sure I do not waste any time where and when I can.
I find that preparing and cooking food can take up a huge chunk of your time. This is why I make a consistent effort to look for recipes which are quick to prepare, with easy to source ingredients and lots of goodness. Whilst I am an advocate for taking shortcuts where and when you can, I try to limit them in the food department. This is not to say that we never have say, pizza, but I could not spend the two busiest weeks of the year eating food that goes out of a box in the freezer and into the oven every day. I could do it maybe once, in two weeks, but that is the absolute maximum for me.
The slow cooker is one kitchen tool that saves me huge chunks of time. It’s one of those magical gadgets where you can spend little hands on time prepping for (a batch!) of homemade goodness, walk away for hours, and come back to enjoy the food with your family. In the meantime, the kitchen has been cleaned, and many a job has been done, and you are left with lots of extra food to be frozen. Genius, right?
Although it took me a while to get used to it (I did go through the awkward phase of getting watery recipes, or dishes so bland I couldn’t stomach them, and what about the phase where I only cooked stews and soups in it?), once I did, oh my what a relief. I was dishing out 4 meals in 45 minutes of prep time. From start to finish. I’m not kidding. If you’re intrigued, I teach the whole process, ins and outs and my secrets in a mini course called ‘Slow Cooking, Fast Batching’. Well, I say mini, the price is mini as it is AMAZING value, but what you will learn is golden and ALL you need to know to be a slow cooker success.
Back to the dish in question. This is one of those recipes that takes almost no effort, but tastes like it does! Here goes!
15 minutes of prep will give you a beautiful octopus dish, complete with your potatoes and greens! Slow-cooked to perfection!
15 minPrep Time
7 hrCook Time
7 hr, 15 Total Time
Yields 4 servings
Save RecipeIngredients
- 3.2 kgs Miracle Foods frozen octopus
- 6 potatoes
- extra-virgin olive oil
- Drogheria pink Himalayan salt (also from Miracle Foods)
- 1 tsp sweet paprika & 1 tsp hot paprika
- rucola
Instructions
- Add your thawed octopus to your slow cooker and cover with water.
- Set your slow cooker to cook for 7 hours on high.
- Boil your potatoes, let them cool, and cut them into slices.
- When your octopus has cooked, place on a chopping board. Once cool, remove the hard beak where the tentacles meet the head and discard.
- Chop up the rest of the octopus into bite-sized pieces.
- Combine the octopus with a healthy drizzle of a good extra virgin olive oil, your Himalayan salt, and your sweet and hot paprika.
- Lay out the potato slices on your serving plate. Place the octopus on top, and the rucola all around.
- Dig in, and enjoy!
Notes
This can be eaten hot or cold. Personally, I prefer it cold 🙂
Calories
Fat
Carbs
Protein
Becky
June 4, 2019 5:32 pmthe Mama Manual
June 12, 2019 6:04 am