Polvo Assado (Azorean Octopus Stew) Recipe

"Recipe credited to my friend Joe, who is in the Azores right now, visiting family. Can't get more authentic than this! Feel free to play around with the amounts, as every family makes this differently! The hot crushed peppers (malagueta) can be a bit difficult to find, and come salted in a jar. I was able to find them at: melloschouricodotcom Brand names are Star or Bom Petisco. You can try other types of hot peppers (piri piri or Thai bird), but you will need to add salt to the recipe."

Step by Step Method

Step 1

Clean and cut the octopus into bite size pieces.

Step 2

Sauté the onion in some of the oil. Before the onion is done (so as to not burn the garlic) add the garlic and pepper – sauté until onion is soft – medium heat, add paprika at the end and stir together.

Step 3

Add the hot peppers and stir. If you were able to find the real Portuguese peppers, you will likely have enough salt. If not, add salt to taste.

Step 4

Add the octopus and enough oil to almost cover. Simmer until the octopus shrinks down, about 10 minutes.

You should notice that the octopus appears to have a layer of softer tissue between the skin and meat. Take note, this will be how you tell it is done later.

Step 5

Add the wine, tomato, bay leaves and parsley. Stir. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally.

Octopus is tough; you either have to cook it quick and short, or stew it for a long time. I stew it for a long time.

Step 6

When the soft layer of tissue is cooked down to the point where you only have the solid meat, add the potatoes. Add enough water to cover the potatoes and bring to soft boil then lower heat and simmer until the potatoes are cooked. This should not take long, that is why you needed to cut the potatoes small.