Maltese octopus stew combines tomatoes, red wine, capers and olives in a simmered sauce.
Stuffat tal-qarnit , or Maltese-style octopus stew, combines octopus with a simmered sauce of tomatoes, red wine, capers, and olives. Nathalie’s recipe serves six and requires preparing the octopus in advance, as it must be frozen and then thawed before cooking.
A long cooking time in a tomato sauce
The dish is prepared in a casserole dish. The onions and garlic are first sautéed in olive oil, then red wine is used to deglaze. Next, the tomatoes, capers, olives, and chosen herbs are added before incorporating the pieces of octopus.
Continue cooking, covered, over low heat for about 1½ to 2 hours. The octopus should be tender and the sauce thickened by the time of serving. In Malta, some variations also include potatoes and peas, added about 30 minutes before the end of cooking.
Ingredients for six people
- 1 kg of octopus prepared by the fishmonger
- 800g of crushed or fresh tomatoes
- 2 sliced onions and 4 cloves of chopped garlic
- 15 cl of red wine
- 2 tablespoons of capers
- 50g of pitted black or green olives
- Olive oil, fresh herbs, salt and pepper
Parsley, mint, thyme, or bay leaf are among the suggested herbs. The stew can be served with boiled potatoes, rice, or pasta.
Prepare the octopus before cooking it
To prevent it from becoming tough during cooking, the recipe recommends freezing the fresh octopus for 24 to 48 hours, then letting it thaw in the refrigerator. It should then be cut into pieces and seared in a pan to release its juices.
Once this step is complete, the pieces are added to the pot with the sauce. The slow cooking allows the octopus to become tender while the tomatoes, capers, olives, and red wine form the base of the stew.
Source: Papilles à l’affût (papillesalaffut.com)
Original article: See the original source
Author: Nathalie
