Rodrigues Octopus Coconut Curry

Ingredients

• 1 lb cooked octopus, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 can coconut milk
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 to 2 red chilies, minced
• 3 ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup fish stock or water
• 1 1/2 cups rice, for serving
• 2 limes, 1 juiced and 1 cut into wedges
• 1 tsp fine salt, plus more to taste
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro or parsley

Steps

1. If your octopus is raw rather than pre-cooked, simmer it whole in unsalted water for 45 to 60 minutes, until a skewer slides into the thickest part with no resistance, then cool and cut it up.
2. Octopus is tender in the first two minutes of cooking or after the better part of an hour, with nothing but rubber in between. There is no shortcut through that middle.
3. Rinse the rice and simmer it in 2 1/4 cups salted water, covered, over the lowest heat for 15 minutes, then leave it covered off the heat.
4. Heat the oil in a wide pan over medium heat and cook the onion with a pinch of salt for 8 minutes until soft and golden.
5. Add the garlic, ginger, chilies, curry powder, and turmeric and stir for 1 minute, until the spices smell toasted rather than raw.
6. Add the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes, pressing them down, until they collapse and the oil separates at the edges.
7. Pour in the stock and the coconut milk and bring to the barest simmer, well below a boil so the coconut milk stays smooth.
8. Add the octopus and simmer gently for 12 to 15 minutes, until it is heated through and the sauce has thickened around it. Stir in the lime juice off the heat and serve over rice with cilantro and lime wedges.

Allergen note: Contains fish, shellfish and coconut.

Use the listed quantities as a guide, adjust seasoning to taste, and cook proteins to a safe internal temperature.