How to cook octopus Neapolitan style
Published: 24-Mar-2013 (23:24); Viewed: 4151; Difficulty: 4 out of 10
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Naples is a large Italian fishermen town on Mediterranean sea. These fishermen do know how to cook octopus Neapolitan style. I've learn this recipe from famous Italian chef William Lamberti and I truly believe, that this is a very beautiful example of Italian cuisine. Average portion should be made from one average octopus, and today we will prepare three portion meal. Traditionally, this meal is cooked with with simple side dish.
step-by-step instructions
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 Ingredients for three portion meal:
- Average size octopus, 3 creatures.
- Shallot onion, 4 bulbs.
- Carrot, 1 average root.
- Celery, 2-3 stalks.
- Garlic, 1 bulb.
- Thyme, very small bunch.
- Italian red wine, For example Merlot, 300-400 ml. Smaller octopuses require shorter cooking time and less wine respectively.
- Black or mixed pepper, ½ tsp.
- Salt, 2 tsp.
- Olive oil, 1-2 tbsp
Also for side dish it is necessary to have
- Iceberg or Round Lettuce, 1 or 2 plants.
- Garlic, 1 bulb.
- Dill, small bunch.
- Olive oil, 4-5 tbsp
- Salt ½ tsp
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 at the beginning, it is necessary to clean octopus. Full cleaning requires four simple steps.
- Turn octopus mantle inside out and cut all muscles, supported internal organs. Chop off all internal organs by one cut near the mantle base.
- Chop off skull from the mantle base, this cut will also remove octopus eyes.
- Make circular cut around beak and remove beak with buccal mass. It is possible to push out this part without cutting.
- Clean large dirty suction cups and generally wash everything from ink, sand etc.
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 Chop celery stalks, Finely slice carrot, finely chop onion, slightly crush garlic.
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 Preheat olive oil in the wok and fry vegetables on high heat until they ready, or until onion turns brown. Constantly stir and shake vegetables frying in the wok.
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 Add salt, pepper and thyme and stir again.
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 Add octopuses and cook two more minutes, constantly stirring.
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 Add wine and bring to boil. Reduce heat and tightly cover wok with lid. Cook for 30 minutes for average octopuses or 40 minutes for large octopuses. Stir few times during cooking.
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 Few minutes before the end, prepare the side dish. Cut garlic bulb into two halves across the cloves. Cut lettuce into two or four pieces, depending on size (Iceberg cut into quotas, Round lettuce cut into halves). Sprinkle cut surfaces with salt.
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 Preheat olive oil on non-stick frying pan, and fry garlic and lettuce until the frying surface turns brown.
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 When serving, sprinkle with chopped dill, drop of olive oil and spoon of cooking juice from the wok.
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tips and tricks
- The cooking juice for this Neapolitan octopus looks dark-black, but this is normal and the taste is very beautiful.
- Do not use cheap cooking wine for Neapolitan octopus, use only good, tasty, full bodied red wine.
by: Librarian
tags:
cooking with wine;
italian cuisine;
restaurant recipes
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