Skip to main content

Polpi in Purgatorio for #ItalianFWT

By

This month the Italian Food, Wine & Travel - #ItalianFWT - blogging group is traveling to their eleventh region of Italy: Abruzzo. I'm joining for the just the second time and was thrilled to be heading to Abruzzo by tabletop and goblet since I never made it there in real life.

Follow along the Abruzzo journey with my other Abruzzi fans and make sure to join us next month on October 3rd as we will be covering the region of Umbria.  You can also chat with us live this Saturday morning at 11am EST on Twitter at #ItalianFWT.  Hope to see you there!

In My Glass...
I went for one of the region's signature wines: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. I actually set out searching for Cerasuolo, but I couldn't find one. I'll keep looking.


Montepulciano, the grape variety, is indigenous to the Peligna Valley and most notably from the hills known as the Colline Teramane, the hills surrounding the town of Teramo. The wine is characterized by a deep regal hue and notes of spice and red currants. This bottle - 2012 La Valentina Montepulciano d'Abruzzo - is no exception. It had a warmth and softness that created the perfect flavor foil for a bolder dish.

On My Plate...
I was inspired to make a dish with a little heat: Polpi in Purgatorio, baby octopus in a spicy broth.

Polpi in Purgatorio
Ingredients

  • 2 pounds baby octopus
  • ½ C olive oil
  • 2 onions, peeled and diced
  • 1 t red chili pepper (you can use more, but my mini boys don't like things too spicy yet)
  • 2 C chopped tomatoes
  • 1 t smoked paprika
  • freshly ground salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 C fresh parsley, chopped
  • bread for serving

Procedure
Clean the octopus in salted water and rinse well. In a Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and add in the onions and red chili pepper flakes.


Once the onions have softened and are beginning to turn translucent, add in the tomatoes, smoked paprika, and the octopus. bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and cover.  Braise the octopus in the tomato broth for at least 90 minutes. Stir occasionally.


To serve, fold in the fresh herbs and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with grilled pieces of bread.


This dish was multiple days in the making because the fish market has open hours that are not working people-friendly. I arrived at 5:15pm on Monday; they were closed. Tuesday evening I went on a date with my Love and sent the boys to the farmers' market with their babysitter, so I skipped the market. I arrived at 4:30pm on Wednesday; they were closed. So, I ran over there during my lunch break today. Friday...the day my post was due. Success. Phew. If I had missed them again, I was going to throw in the towel and just drown my sorrows in that bottle! Thankfully, I didn't have to do that.

That's all for now, folks. Cin cin. Catch you next month for #ItalianFWT as we head to Umbria.

Labels:

Comments

  1. JeffSeptember 5, 2015 at 6:57 AM

    I love baby octopus, thanks for giving us another recipe to try!

    ReplyDelete
  2. vinotravels21September 5, 2015 at 7:25 AM

    Cool polpi pics. The things we do for food. Glad you chased down the market til it was open ; )

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Wining HourSeptember 5, 2015 at 7:57 AM

    Looks like a great recipe. I never made octopus, but you made it seem doable.

    ReplyDelete
  4. David @ Cooking ChatSeptember 5, 2015 at 11:02 AM

    good photos of your dish...might tempt me to try octopus one of these days.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Martin DSeptember 7, 2015 at 11:26 AM

    I'm a big fan of octopus (especially the tentacles). Your dish looks great Cam! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Martin DSeptember 7, 2015 at 11:26 AM

    I'm a big fan of octopus (especially the tentacles). Your dish looks great Cam! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé #Winophiles

By
This month the French Winophiles group is looking at affordable wines from Burgundy.  Host Cindy of Grape Experiences wrote: "Burgundy, or Bourgogne, is known for its wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir... as well as Aligote, Gamay, Sauvignon, César, Pinot Beurot, Sacy, Melon in lesser quantities. Many of the well-known wines are quite expensive, but there are plenty of values to be found." Read her invitation here. And there won't be a Twitter chat for this event, so you will have to dive into the articles themselves to read about our pairings and findings. Here's the line-up... Wendy Klik from A Day in the Life on the Farm enjoys Domaine Chevillon Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2018 Paired with a Maple Pecan Chicken . Camilla Mann from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares her love of Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé. Jeff Burrows of FoodWineClick! explains why we should Look t
5 comments
Read more

Homemade Lorna Doone Cookies #SundayFunday

By
Today the Sunday Funday group is celebrating childhood favorites. Thanks to Stacy of  Food Lust People Love , Sue of  Palatable Pastime , Rebekah of  Making Miracles , and Wendy of  A Day in the Life on the Farm  for coordinating this low-stress group. Today Stacy is hosting and she's given us the following prompt: "Childhood favorites. Did you have a favorite dish growing up? It could be something your family cooked or a restaurant dish, even a Chef Boyardee canned good or packaged ingredients like Rice-a Roni or mac and cheese. Recreate THAT dish from SCRATCH for this event."  Here's the #SundayFunday childhood favorites line-up... Chili Mac from A Day in the Life on the Farm Ham and Mushroom Breakfast Burritos from Making Miracles Homemade Lorna Doone Cookies from Culinary Adventures with Camilla Homemade Wonder Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories K-Mart Sub Sandwiches from Palatable Pastime Kempakki Dosa from Sizzling Tastebuds Meat Chilly Fry by Sn
6 comments
Read more

Meyer Lemon Custard-Filled Matcha Turtles #BreadBakers

By
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our  Pinterest board  right here. Links are also updated after each event on the  Bread Bakers home page .  We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month Stacy of Food Lust People Love  is hosting and she wrote: "Your bread can be large, as in one big animal, or small - animal-shaped rolls. Use your imagination! Points for flavor and shape!" If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. Here's the animal-shaped bread basket from the #BreadBakers... Beef and Sweet Onion Dim Sum Pandas from Karen's Kitchen Stories Bird Bread Rolls from Ambrosia Easter Bunny Buns from Cook with Renu Ham and Cheese Elephant Rolls from Food Lust People Love Hedgehog Bread from Making Mir
15 comments
Read more