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
Historians have traced the existence of recipes way back into history, in truth as far as early Egypt, and quite possibly further than that. However, sadly, these ancient recipes were just simple hieroglyphic instructions for preparing meals.
Fascinatingly, the most ancient recipe in existence, according to experts is a series of clay tablets in Sumerian which show the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made people feel blissful and exhilarated. Progressing into The time of the romans 25BC a roman called Apicius compiled a collection of scripts which described recipes prepared by the Romans. In his publication, Apicius tells us how the meals were divided into hors d`oeuvre, main meal and afters, a style of dining still practiced today. Aspicius describes how the Romans made use of a good variety of aromatic flavours, including some that we all recognise like basil, mint and dill. As our culinary historical trip moves to more modern times there were two interesting cookery books which appeared in the fourteenth century : a recipe book called `Forme of Cury`, and another titled `Curye on Inglish`. Surprisingly, these have no connection with the curry that is popular today, but rather recipes for the types of meals eaten by the rich and wealthy people of that time. In the 15th century, knights returning from the crusades brought back many new foods and herbs from Arab countries, including basil and rosemary. These new foods and spices prompted an explosion in manuscripts on food, many of which are now in private collections. The introduction of television brings us celebrity chefs and the demand for the accompanying recipe books. And that brings us to the present day and the internet revolution, permitting everyone to search through thousands of recipes such as those found on our site. |
We hope you enjoy this Arroz De Polvo (Octopus Rice) recipe.
