We had a blustery, grey day a couple of weeks ago, and we needed something to warm ourselves up. So, I decided to break out the Clay Dutch Oven my wife gave me for Christmas a few years ago and build a really funky spicy seafood stew! Next step was to determine what to put in it and what flavour profile to build! Onions, Potatoes, Peas, and Carrots were definitely on the menu since they’re classic stew ingredients, and we had them on hand.
Given our newfound love for Octopus from our hiking vacation to Madeira, I also had an octopus on hand…and since it becomes very tender with a “low and slow” cooking method, we figured it would be great in a stew. So, we chopped up four of the tentacles, added them, and essentially braised in the oven for 5.5 hours. We finished building our dish with Garam Masala (and a little Kashmiri Chili Powder) for an added curry richness and some heat. Everything came together really well, and all of the textures came out exactly as we intended! We served our stew with a piece of homemade Sourdough.
Time: 6 Hours
Ingredients:
- Octopus (4 tentacles)
- Baby Potatoes
- Peas
- Onion
- Shredded Carrot
- Garam Masala
- Salt
- 4-5 Cups of Hot Water
- Bay Leaves
Method:
- If using:
- A clay pot, soak it for a few hours, and pat it dry. Then, when you’re ready to cook, preheat your oven to 215 degrees F.
- A Dutch oven, preheat your oven to 215 degrees F.
- A Slow cooker, set your temperature to low.
- Peel and chop your onion.
- Melt a little ghee or coconut oil in your preferred cooking vessel, and add your onion.
- Chop your potatoes into quarters, and add them to the onions.
- Break down your Octopus, and chop four of the tentacles into 1/2-1inch strips.
- When your onions begin to sweat, add your octopus, peas, and carrots. Sprinkle in your garam masala and some salt. Let cook a little together.
- Pour in your water, and add in your bay leaves.
- If using a clay pot or Dutch oven, transfer to your oven, and cook for 5-6 hours until your potatoes soften. If using a slow cooker, just let sit for 5-6 hours on low until your potatoes are ready.
- Fish out and discard your bay leaves.
PlateBowl, Devour, and enjoy!
