Canarian octopus ranch

There are magical spoon dishes, dishes that take you back to childhood and to the meals at grandma's house. This Canarian ranch that I bring you today is one of them, a simple spoon dish and, although the most famous one is prepared with meat, I am passionate about the version with octopus. It is a typical preparation of the Canary Islands , a humble dish that is truly delicious.

At first, no meat was added and this thick soup was simply made with noodles, chickpeas and potatoes; all of it, of course, well seasoned. If it is already delicious like this, imagine once meat and chorizo ​​were added, it is absolutely crazy.

On the other hand, as you can imagine, these stews require patience and a lot of time, and since we are always in a hurry these days, I have prepared the express version, without complications, with which you can have it ready in half an hour and thus not give up delicacies like my version of Canarian octopus ranch.

Ingredients (for 6 people)

• 400 gr cooked chickpeas
• 200 gr cooked octopus (2-3 slices depending on size)*
• 500 g peeled potatoes cut into large cubes
• 150 gr thick noodles no. 4
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 grated tomatoes
• 3 sprigs of parsley
• 1 pinch of saffron threads
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cayenne pepper (optional)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Approximately 1.5 liters of water

Le Creuset Evolution round cocotte , Revol round porcelain plates and Emile Henry ceramic mortar

Elaboration:

1. In our Ingenio manual chopper, chop 1 clove of garlic and the peeled onion, cut into 8 pieces. Sauté in the Le Creuset cocotte with 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
2. Once cooked, add the grated tomatoes and cook until the water from the tomatoes has evaporated. Add the teaspoon of paprika, the saffron threads, the cumin and the cayenne pepper. Stir and add the potatoes cut into chunks. Cover with water and cook for 10 minutes.
3. We cut the octopus slices with the help of scissors into not very thick slices. We set aside. – *If the octopus is bought vacuum-packed, it is important to save the gelatin that comes in the can and if it is stewed at home, a small cup of cooking broth, both of which we will use to give flavor to the stew-.
4. In a mortar, I use the ceramic one from Emile Henry , we crush the leaves of the parsley sprigs together with another garlic clove and a pinch of salt until we obtain a paste. We set aside.
5. Once the 10 minutes of cooking have passed, add the chickpeas, octopus, noodles, octopus broth or gelatin and the mash that we have made to the stew. If necessary, add more water. Cook until the noodles are ready, about 20 minutes.
6. We adjust the salt and pepper and let it rest for a few minutes.
7. We serve hot.

Evolution Le Creuset round cocotte

The original recipe is prepared with meat, but with octopus it is a real delight. Don't forget to prepare it and adapt it to your tastes, remember that in the end the base of this stew is potatoes, noodles and chickpeas.

Take advantage of those days of family meals when what you crave most is a comforting spoon dish, and if you decide to prepare the slow version you will have to soak the chickpeas the night before, cook the octopus separately and adjust the cooking time. Although if you want I can prepare the meat version with plenty of time and simmering.

Enjoy!

Loreto