Octopus Soup

Octopus must be cooked quickly or very slowly to make it tender

Ingredients

2 pounds of octopus, cleaned and cut into 1" pieces

½ cup of tomato paste

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 celery stock, chopped into small pieces, including leaves

1 carrot, sliced into rounds

2 ½ cups fish stock (see our Fish Stock recipe) or water in emergency

3 red chilis , dried

1 bunch cilantro, leaves separated from stem

1/2 cup of bulghur wheat, rinsed in a sieve

1 tablespoon of caraway

1 teaspoon of cumin

½ teaspoon of Cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon of coriander

lemon wedges

extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1.  In a Dutch oven heat extra virgin olive oil and sauté onion, garlic, carrots, and celery. Add tomato paste, and sauté, adding more olive oil if needed. 

2. Add octopus to Dutch oven.  Cover with water and add fish stock.  Bring to a boil, add spices and simmer.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer for 1 ½ hours or until octopus is tender.  Add the bulghur wheat and cilantro during the last 20 minutes of cooking.  Serve with lemon wedges.

Serves approx 6 to 8