Octopus Stew
Polipo in Umido
The recipe I am sharing here I know from Malta, where I come from. People have told me that they have eaten a similar dish in Greece and some say they tasted something like it in Calabria, which is the tip of the Italian boot. Now Calabria was once part of ancient Greece, but many centuries later it formed part of the the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which included all Southern Italy from Naples to Puglia, as well as Sicily itself of course, and the tiny little island of Malta off Sicily's shores, just one of many similar small islands.
This octopus stew is richly savoury and only very mildly fishy. What I like best of all is the occasional surprise of biting on a currant or a walnut - somehow it is always a surprise though I know it is there. A savoury / sweet combination mixing olives and capers with pine nuts and raisins is typical of much of the cooking of North West Sicily and is a legacy from Sicily's golden period under Arab rule. Malta at that time, as well as for many centuries after, was ruled directly or indirectly from Sicily by the rulers of Sicily. So is this dish originally Arab or Greek? Is it Maltese or is it Southern Italian? I have called it simply "octopus stew" in Italian and decided that Octopus Stew Mediterranean Style seems a good description of this lovely dish that I enjoyed as a girl and still love today.
Do try to get real currants, "Uvetta di Corinto" in Italian, the small dried black grapes orignially from Corinth. They are right both because they are very small, so they add just the right amount of sweetness, and because they have a nice sharp edge, which means they work much better than larger sweeter raisins. But if you can't get them, then by all means use raisins.
Octopus Stew Mediterranean Style
For 4 people you will need:
A 1. 5 kilo (3 pounds 5 ounces) octopus, ideally a defrosted one which is more tender and cooks faster
an onion
2 garlic cloves
3 tbsp. thick tomato paste
2 tbsp. olive oil
a glass of red wine (white will do but red adds colour)
1 or 2 tbsp. currants or substitute smallest raisins
1 or 2 tbsp. small black olives
6 walnuts
2 bay leaves
black pepper
Optional: a tsp. of allspice or cinnamon or cloves; you can also add two handfuls of shelled fresh peas to the sauce
While the octopus is cooking, shell the walnuts and chop roughly, not too small. Peel and slice the onion into thin half moons.
Very gently fry the garlic in the olive oil till just golden then remove. Add the sliced onions and soften gently till well wilted and softened .
While the onions are softening dilute the tomato paste in hot water. When it is well blended add it to the onions along with all the other ingredients: olives, currants, walnuts, bay leaf, any sweet spice you are using.
Leave to simmer on low heat, allowing it to reduce then topping up with a little water, till it has thickened into a good sauce consistency.
When the octopus is cooked through, remove and discard the liquid it has expelled, which will be too salty to use. Decide if you want to skin it or not, then chop into 5 cm pieces and add these to the tomato sauce.
Add the wine and simmer uncovered till the sauce has thickened again.
Serve with small boiled potatoes rolled in olive oil and dusted with fresh parsley or on its own with good crusty bread. We found samphire when shopping, a sea vegetable known as sea aspargus - so we used that in instead.
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And here's a little extra!
