[VIDEO] Croatian Recipes: Octopus Under the Lid Alternative

Octopus under the lid alternative

Croatia Week have teamed up with Fini Recepti to bring you your favourite Croatian recipes in English…

Croatian TV chef Almo Čatlak this year completed 10 years of his cooking show ‘TV-kuhanja’ (TV-cooking). Čatlak’s show, which shows viewers how to prepare a meal from start to finish in a 3-4 minute clip, was broadcast on Croatian TV for the past decade. In that period Čatlak has produced over 2,000 videos.

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Octopus Under the Lid Alternative (Hobotnica kao ispod peke)

Ispod peke, or under the lid, dome or bell, is a traditional method of cooking where hot coals and embers are placed on the lid of light metal dome dish to slow cook whatever inside. It is not something you can whip up after work at home too easily. Although not as tasty as the real thing, this recipe is an alternative.

Instructions:

Octopus – 1.5 kg
Potatoes – 1 kg
Cherry tomatoes – 5-6
Onion – 1
Rosemary – 1 sprig
Garlic – 2 cloves
Carrot – 1
Dry white wine – 120 ml
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Instructions:

1. Put the cleaned octopus in a pot, cover and cook on a low heat in its own juices for around 20 minutes.

2. Peel the potatoes and cut into quarters. Cut the onion also into quarters and place all in a bowl and cover.

3. Drain any water from the potatoes and place in a dish with the onion. Add peeled carrot pieces, rosemary, garlic, and some of the white wine.

4. Cut the octopus into pieces and place in dish with rest of the ingredients. Add salt, pepper, olive oil and cover with tin foil.

5. Place in the oven on 200°C for 40 minutes. Take out and turn the octopus, mix ingredients and add the rest of the wine.

6. Cook for a further 40 minutes in the oven.

Dobar tek!

Check out the video instructions below:

The original recipe in Croatian is here.