2 lb octopus
1 cup red wine
3/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic clove, finely chopped
3 tomato, skinned & chopped
1 large bell pepper, green, chopped
1 salt, to taste
1 pepper, to taste
1 chilli powder, to taste
1 lb rice, short grain
Directions
Precook octopus in red wine with a little water. The octopus will
exude liquid so that you are likely to end up with more cooking
liquid at the end. Retain this and add water to make it up to 2-1/2
cups. Cut the drained octopus into small pieces.
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan; add a chopped onion and cook
gently, stirring, for 2 or 3 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, and
pepper. Season with salt, pepper and chilli powder to taste. Cook for
a few minutes longer.
Add the cooking liquid from the octopus and bring it to the boil. Add
rice (preferably a short-grain risotto rice like arborio) and bring
back to the boil, then turn the heat very low and put the lid on the
saucepan. After 15 minutes, stir to ensure the rice is not catching
on the bottom of the saucepan. In 5 minutes more, taste a grain or
two to make sure it is soft. The rice should still be quite damp.
Serve.
From Meryl Constance' column in the Sydney Morning Herald,
Recipe courtesy of Mark Herron
Fidonet COOKING echo
Servings: 4 servings
Arroz De Polvo (Octopus Rice) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Mexican; Rice; Seafood; Vegetable
The History of Recipes
It is possible to read the history of meal recipes way back into ancient history, in truth as far as early Egypt, and possibly even further than that. Interesting though that is, generally, these old records were just very basic pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for food preparation.
In fact, the most ancient recipe in existence, according to experts in ancient history are some tablets in Sumerian describing the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making those who drank it feel exhilarated. Later on, in The time of the roman empire 25BC a man called Apicius compiled some documents which described recipes prepared by wealthy Romans. In his scrolls, he tells us how the meals of wealthy Romans were split into hors d`oeuvres, main course and desserts, a very modern way of dining. Aspicius informs us how the cooks of Roman times were skilled in the use of many aromatic flavours, including a few that are still present in modern kitchens such as bay, mint and dill. Later, in the fifteenth century, knights returning from the crusades brought us many new foods and herbs from Arab countries, such as rosemary and coriander. The introduction of these new culinary ideas caused an increase in books on cookery, the majority of which are kept safe in private collections. For the decades that followed, the wealthy families of Europe tried to lay on the most extravagent meals, and as a consequence, cooks and their recipe collections increased in prestige. However, it wasn`t until the nineteenth century that fine cooking and cookery books reached a high level of popularity. The Famous Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and Fannie Farmer in the US, spent years to collecting, trying out, and recording recipes for their fellow cooks to enjoy. By the time we get to the 1900s, recipe books were increasing in popularity mostly as a result of more people being able to read, people having more spare time and a general increase in wealth. The arrival of television brought us celebrity chefs and the demand for the accompanying recipe books. And that pretty much brings us to the present day and the invention of the internet, allowing everybody to access massive numbers of recipes like the ones you can find on sites such as the one you are reading now. |
We hope you enjoy this Arroz De Polvo (Octopus Rice) recipe.
