Sunday Flavors

ARROZ DE POLVO - OCTOPUS RICE

Rice, amazing rice, again.
If you have any doubt about rice versatility, here you have another way to cook it.
Arroz de polvo – Octopus rice is another Portuguese recipe, originally from Algarve, cooked all over the country. It can be made with octopuses of any size, so baby ones don’t need too much precooking time. Some people precook it with red wine and a little water, some people add one onion to the precook and some people just don’t precook it. As octopus have a hard meat I advice you to always precook it. Just do it the way you prefer, only considering its thickness.
This is a damp rice dish so please serve it like that and not with risotto’s consistency.
If you prefer, use different fresh herbs like parsley, thyme or pennyroyal (my favorite).

Let’s go!

YOU WILL NEED (serves 4):
1,2 kg / 2lb and 10 ¼ oz of clean octopus;
350 g / 12 ¼ oz of long grain rice;
600g / 1lb and 5 oz of fresh ripe skinless tomatoes, diced (you can use caned tomatoes since you trust it’s quality);
300g / 10 ½ oz of onion, diced;
1 green bell pepper, cut into stripes or squares;
5 garlic cloves, sliced;
1 or 2 fresh chilies, sliced;
1 tablespoon of paprika;
2 bay leaves;
150 ml / 5 ¼ fl oz extra virgin olive oil;
300 ml / 10 ½ fl oz of white wine;
1 tablespoon of tomato paste;
1 teaspoon of oregano;
2 handfuls of fresh coriander coarsely chopped;
Sea salt
Water
2 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice.

METHOD:

Precook octopus with a little water and salt during 30 to 45 minutes, depending on its thickness (the octopus will exude liquid so don’t be surprised if you have more cooking liquid at the end);
Drain octopus and retain the boiling liquid (add water to the boiling liquid to make it up to 3 to 4 times the rice volume – for 350g of rice you must have around 1,5 litres / 2 pints and 12 ¾ fl oz);
Cut octopus in small pieces and reserve;
In a large saucepan, heat olive oil and add, by this order, garlic, bay leaves, paprika, chili, onion, tomato, tomato paste, white wine and oregano. Let it cook for around 15 minutes in medium to low heat;
Add octopus pieces and cook for 5 minutes more;
Add boiling liquid with water, and bring it to a boil;
Season with sea salt;
Add rice and bring back to the boil, then turn the heat very low and put the lid on the saucepan;
Stir to ensure the rice is not catching on the bottom of the saucepan;
By tasting a grain or two, cut the fire just right before the rice is soft (but still quite damp);
Garnish it with coriander and/or other fresh herbs you like and drizzle with vinegar or lemon juice;
Put the lid and let it rest for 2 or 3 minutes before serving. Don not forget the rice should still be quite damp.