Octopus bean stew
Octopus bean stew is a comforting and hearty meal that blends the flavors of the sea with tender pieces of octopus, white beans, carrots, tomato pulp, and fresh parsley or cilantro. It’s also a great way to make the most of octopus — a somewhat “unforgiving” ingredient, as it tends to shrink quite a bit when cooked.
Equipment
- 1 Pressure cooker
- 1 Large pot A Dutch oven is great for this.
- 1 Wooden spoon or spatula
- 1 Knife
- Small spoons for tasting
Ingredients
- 1 medium octopus
- 800 gr white beans (about 28 oz)
- 2 onions
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3 carrots
- 400 gr tomato pulp (about 14 oz)
- Olive oil to taste
- Salt to taste
- White pepper to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- Fresh parsley or cilantro to taste
Instructions
Cooking the Octopus
- Start by blanching the octopus: dip it into boiling water for 3 seconds, remove it, and repeat the process two more times, dipping for 3 seconds each time.
- Then cook the octopus in a pressure cooker with one sliced onion, a bay leaf, and two garlic cloves for about 30 minutes. The octopus should be tender enough to pierce with a fork easily
Making the Octopus Stew
- Once the octopus is cooked, prepare a base sauce with olive oil, one chopped onion, and two garlic cloves. Let it sauté until golden.
- Add the tomato pulp and the carrots, sliced or diced, and cook until the carrots are soft. Lower the heat to medium.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Meanwhile, cut the octopus into large chunks.
- When the carrots are cooked, add the octopus and about 100 ml (roughly ½ cup) of the cooking liquid.
- Add the white beans, including the liquid from the can or jar, and let everything simmer for 5 to 10 minutes so the flavors can come together.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning. If needed, add a little more of the octopus broth to get a nice, generous sauce, but not too watery.
- Turn off the heat and stir in some freshly chopped parsley or cilantro, depending on your preference.