Octopus Stew (in Maltese: Stuffat tal-Qarnit)
Ingredients
1 kilo (or 2 lb and 3.27 oz)) octopus
6 medium sized onions (chopped)
6 tomatoes (peeled and chopped)
6 large potatoes (cut in thick slices)
8 cloves of garlic (crushed)
8 olives (stoned and chopped)
1 tablespoon capers
A few leaves of marjoram and mint
A pinch of tyme
Olive oil
¼ bottle red wine
Method
Clean the octopus very well by turning head inside out and removing the insides. Cut away the beak and eyes. The rest is all edible. To tenderize the flesh, put the octopus in a plastic bag and beat it with a meat hammer against the kitchen table.
Cut the octopus into pieces some 5 cm in length. Rinse in salted water and allow to drain.
Place the octopus in a pot over a very low fire and stew for about an hour. If you see that it is getting too dry, add a little hot water or white wine.
Fry the onions in olive oil. When they soften, add the tomatoes and garlic. As soon as the tomatoes start to soften, mix in all herbs, olives and capers.
The octopus pieces should now be ready to be added to the pan. Increase the temperature to boiling and add the potatoes also. Pour the red wine, lower the heat and stew slowly until the liquid reduces considerably.
We hope that you found these two octopus recipes interesting and that you will try them out when you feel like cooking octopus.
L-Ikla t-tajba! ... Maltese for "Enjoy your meal" :)