Octopus and prawn stew with potatoes

How to make a casserole of octopus and prawns.

Any recipe for fish or seafood that has octopus among its ingredients is guaranteed to be before a plate full of flavor.

It is a star product of Galician gastronomy, and I can vouch for it, you just have to take a look around the blog to see my love for octopus.

Galician octopus is usually smaller than its African competitors, but it beats them in flavor and quality. He spends his whole life eating seafood from the estuary, and that shows a lot once we taste it. Illa de Ons, Bueu, Mugardos, are places in Galicia known for their good octopus and gastronomic festivals dedicated to this delicacy from the Galician estuaries.

On the blog (and in all my books) you will find a wide selection of recipes with octopus .

It is perfect for making casseroles or casseroles, such as an octopus with garlic prawns , the traditional octopus à la mugardesa or an octopus à la Sochantre with a long history. All of them need a good artisan bread to enjoy the delicious sauce, and of course, a Galician red wine. 

The only difficulty its preparation can have is cooking the octopus, but don’t worry, because here I leave you with all the secrets to cook the octopus  and make it stand.

Preparation of the octopus. Cooking

It is very important to soften the octopus by hitting it before cooking, it helps the meat to be tender.

The normal thing is to buy the octopus already frozen, which achieves a similar effect. So if we buy it fresh, all we have to do is freeze it.

1. We take the octopus out a day before the freezer and put it in the fridge to defrost.
2. It is important to do it in a saucepan or a large bowl because it will release a lot of liquid and it can overflow.
3. At the time of cooking we pass it a little through cold water to clean it and remove possible impurities.
4. We put a casserole (the largest we have) on the fire with water. We do not add salt.
5. When it starts to boil we add the octopus, we take it by the head and “we scare it”, this technique consists of putting the octopus in and out 3-4 times from the saucepan to make it stiff and the skin does not fall during the cooking.
6. We cook the octopus for about 20 minutes per kilo of weight. In this case, 40 minutes.
7. You have to click it from time to time to see how hard it is. The first time you cook it, it will cost you to take the point but then it will come out pearl-free.
8. When we finish cooking we let it rest for a few minutes and then we take it to a source.

Preparation of the octopus and prawns casserole

1. Peel the onion, tomato and garlic cloves. We cut the onion into brunoise, the tomato in small cubes and the garlic in slices.   
2. In a wide saucepan, pour a sheet of extra virgin olive oil and poach the vegetables. We cook 10 minutes over medium heat. We salt to taste.
3. Now add a couple of tablespoons of flour. Mix well and fatten the sauce.
4. We continue with white wine and paprika from La Vera, which can be sweet or spicy, depending on your preferences. Let cook another 5 minutes.   
5. We pour into the saucepan a glass (200 ml.) Of the octopus cooking water. This will add a flavor to our future sauce.
6. Meanwhile, we peel the potatoes and cut them into large cubes (that fit in one bite).

Potatoes and final presentation of the stew

1. Add the potatoes, leaving to cook for about 10 minutes. This time is somewhat indicative, depending on the hardness of the potatoes. We salt to taste.
2. Chop the octopus into slices. We add it to the casserole next to the prawn tails. We mix.
3. We cook another 10 minutes over low heat, so that the flavors are integrated and the sauce thickens a little more.
4. We serve hot on the table, in a large bowl or also in the same casserole where we have cooked.  

A dish to take off your hat, although it takes time, it will be worth it. It’s yummy!

You can see all the photos of the octopus and prawn casserole  in this step by step.

Tips for an octopus and prawn casserole

• This dish is very easy to prepare. The only circumstance is if you want to cook the octopus at home, but do not panic, since in the blog you will find how to cook octopus and not die trying.
• The octopus is the most important thing in this casserole, so we should not skimp on this topic. A Galician octopus from the Pereira brand guarantees quality, flavor and an unbeatable final result. It also has the Galicia Calidade seal .
• Once we have the plate on the table, we are going to have a somewhat thick sauce, ideal to savor on it. So I recommend a good artisan bread, with a good crumb, which will be the perfect accompaniment to this octopus and prawn casserole.