Canarian octopus ranch

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

At first, meats were not incorporated and this thick soup was simply made with noodles, chickpeas and potatoes; all of this, of course, well seasoned. If it is already delicious like this, imagine once the meats and chorizo ​​were added, truly crazy.

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

Ingredients for 6 people)

• 400 g cooked chickpeas
• 200 gr cooked octopus (2-3 pieces depending on size)*
• 500 g peeled potatoes cut into large cubes
• 150 gr thick noodles #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 (optional)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Approximately 1.5 liters of water

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

Elaboration:

1. In our Ingenio manual chopper, we chop 1 clove of garlic and the peeled onion cut into 8. We sauté it in the Le Creuset cocotte with 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
2. Once poached, add the grated tomatoes, cook until the tomato water has evaporated well, add the teaspoon of paprika, the saffron strands, the cumin and the cayenne, stir and add the potatoes cut into cubes. We cover with water and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Using scissors, cut the octopus slices into not very thick slices. We reserve. – *If the octopus is bought vacuum-packed, it is important to save the gelatin that it comes with in the preserve and if it is stewed at home, a small cup of cooking broth, we will use both things to give flavor to the stew.
4. In a mortar, I use the Emile Henry ceramic one , we mash the leaves of the parsley sprigs together with another garlic and a pinch of salt until we get a paste. We reserve.
5. Once the 10 minutes of cooking have passed, we add the chickpeas, octopus, noodles, octopus broth or gelatin, and the mashing we have made to the stew. If necessary, add more water. Cook until the noodles are ready, about 20 minutes.
6. Adjust the salt and pepper and let it rest for a few minutes.
7. We serve hot.

Evolution Le Creuset round cocotte

The original ranch recipe is prepared with meat but with octopus it is a true 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 family meal days when what you most want is a comforting spoon dish, and if you decide to prepare the slow version you will have to soak the chickpeas the night before, stew the octopus separately and adapt the cooking times. cooking. Although if you want I can prepare the meat version in plenty of time and making chup chup.

To enjoy!

Loreto