BABY OCTOPUS WITH ONION AND CHICKPEAS - POPETS AMB CEBA I CIGRONS

Today for dinner I made for the first time a Catalan dish ‘Popets amb ceba i cigrons’. I adapted this recipe from one I got from a fellow member of a cooking group and also from a Catalan cookbook I have. It turned out really yummy! The octopus was super tender, and I finished the sauce with chopped garlic, almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, a teaspoon of sweet aniseed and a dash of olive oil. Unbelievably good .....😋🥰

Ingredients

1 kilo of medium octopus, cut into chunks (previously frozen and defrosted)

4 large onions

4 garlic

1 bay leaf

1 cayenne pepper (optional)

1 glass of dry white wine

1 cup of crushed tomato (pasata)

500ml fish stock

1 teaspoon of paprika

1 picada (almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, black pepper, garlic, a teaspoon of sweet aniseed and a drizzle of olive oil)

2 x 400g tins of chickpeas

olive oil

salt

Method

Clean the octopus and, once clean, drain.

Peel and cut the onions into julienne strips and cook over a low heat in a frying pan with olive oil. Add a pinch of salt. Cover the pan and cook for about 10 minutes. The onion should be transparent and soft, but not browned.

Add the octopus to the pan with the onion and mix well. Cover and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the white wine and allow to reduce a little. Pre-heat the oven to 160C.

Put all the ingredients in an ovenproof casserole dish. Add the crushed tomato, bay leaf, chilli (if using), paprika and fish stock and bring to the boil. Cover and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, make the picada by putting all the ingredients in a mortar and pestle. Mash until combined and creamy.

After 30 minutes, check if the octopus is tender and remove the casserole from the oven.

Add the chickpeas.

Add the picada and mix.

Cook for 5-10 minutes over the stove and leave to stand with the casserole covered for a further 5 minutes.

Serve hot with toast with garlic and olive oil to accompany.

Serves 4

Comments

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